JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Public awareness and understanding of stroke are crucial to reducing its overall burden. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are self-directed, free online learning platforms that provide accessible education.

Objective:

We aimed to describe the process, outcomes, and evaluation of co-designing the Preventing Stroke MOOC.

Methods:

The co-design process was conducted with various stakeholder groups from July 2020 to December 2024 in Australia over three phases: (1) Pre-design, (2) Co-design, and (3) Post-design. In the pre-design phase, we consulted with MOOC researchers and held a half-day in-person workshop with community members to prioritize the stroke prevention topics, structure, format and features, followed by user testing of a single developed module. The co-design phase comprised 12 virtual focus groups with community members and health knowledge experts to inform MOOC design, including content, structure, and delivery. This was followed by members of our team drafting content for each module, expert review (e.g. clinicians, researchers) and development of platform materials. In the post-design phase, we conducted user testing to collect feedback and evaluated the co-design process to determine how participant input shaped the content and structure of the MOOC.

Results:

In the pre-design phase, five MOOC experts and community members contributed to a pilot module comprising nine pages on the prioritized topics, including a focus on stories from people with lived experience of stroke. Seven people tested this module, providing positive feedback about content and delivery. The co-design phase engaged 22 participants across 12 focus groups. Their suggestions contributed to the multimedia design of the seven core modules, with personalization via nine optional mini-modules. Feedback on technical issues and suggested improvements identified during post-design user testing were resolved. Evaluation of the co-designed MOOC found that the majority of participants’ suggestions gathered during the co-design phase were included in the final MOOC.

Conclusions:

A structured, co-design process resulted in the Preventing Stroke MOOC reflecting participants’ suggestions and provided important insights on the educational information needed to inform the general population about stroke prevention.