Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jul 8, 2024
Date Accepted: Jul 3, 2025
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Designing Public Healthcare Platform for Rapidly Aging Population in South Korea: Mixed-Method Study Based on Design Thinking Approach
ABSTRACT
Background:
South Korea is experiencing a rapid increase in its aging population, with a growing number of elderly individuals living alone. While life expectancy is above the OECD average, there is a need to improve health management and aging habits among the elderly. To address this, the development of digital healthcare service models has begun, but public awareness and technology acceptance remain low.
Objective:
This study aims to enhance user-centricity in the design of a public healthcare platform in South Korea by 1) empathizing with and identifying the needs of the elderly population considering their digital literacy levels, 2) generating diverse ideas for the platform based on insights gathered, and 3) designing and testing a model of the platform that incorporates the generated ideas and focuses on accessibility and user-friendliness.
Methods:
The 25-month participatory research study follows a design thinking approach with three main stages. The Empathize and Define stage involves field observations and interviews with 30 participants, including healthcare professionals, social welfare/care program stakeholders, and elderly individuals, to identify hidden needs. Data will be analyzed using the grounded theory approach. The Ideation stage holds an idea contest for university students to generate various ideas for digital healthcare. In the Prototype and Test stage, a minimum viable product of the platform will be created and tested with elderly individuals recruited through snowball sampling. Qualitative and quantitative analysis will be conducted.
Results:
The study received a grant from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute for 2023-2025 and gained IRB approval from Sungkyunkwan University in January 2023.
Conclusions:
The study is expected to identify key factors influencing technology acceptance for digital platforms in public care services. The user-centric public healthcare platform model developed has the potential to serve as a blueprint for future digital healthcare initiatives, enhancing health outcomes and quality of life for the elderly population in South Korea.
Citation
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Copyright
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