Reflective practice for co-creating health technologies with children, young people, and families
Thursday 28 May 2026
Jess McNeill
This week, the NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health team are pleased to share our latest paper on co-creating paediatric health technologies with children, young people, and families.
At the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Paediatrics and Child Health, involving children and young people (CYP) and their families in the development of new medical technologies and digital health solutions is a core part of what we do. Through our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) programme, we are dedicated to delivering and supporting inclusive research and innovation through meaningful involvement of CYP and families throughout the health technology development pipeline.
What is ‘meaningful’ involvement?
Involvement of CYP and families plays a vital role in shaping emerging paediatric healthcare technologies into accessible tools and resources that meet the needs of the users and seamlessly integrate with their day-to-day life and NHS care pathways.
As a team that regularly works with CYP and families in this space, how do we know if we are delivering ‘meaningful’ PPIE? It’s important to reflect on our own practice and consider whether our approach is sufficiently inclusive, evidence-based, and ultimately translates into real-world impact for young people.
Reflective practice in PPIE
Our recent paper, led by Jen Preston (PPIE Executive Lead, NIHR HRC PCH), “Co-creating care: Involving children, young people, and families in paediatric medical innovation” explores the importance of reflective practice and a critical review process for evaluating how we co-develop health technologies with, and for, CYP and families.
In this article, we reflect on how our team has involved CYP and families in three distinct case studies using the Lundy Model of Participation as a framework. In each case study we ask ourselves:
- Are we creating the appropriate space for CYP and families to participate?
- Are we supporting them to share their voice and express their views?
- Are their views being heard and listened to by the right audience?
- Are we ensuring the views expressed have influence and drive change in the real-world?
Figure 1 from “Co-creating care: Involving children, young people, and families in paediatric medical innovation”. Children and young people’s participation framework informed by the Lundy model. Adapted with permission from “Conceptualising Article 12” by Laura Lundy.
“Applying this lens helps us identify both strengths and areas where we need to improve. It moves us beyond simply saying “we did Patient and Public Involvement” to asking: How well did we do it? Whose voices were missing? And what changed as a result?“
Jen Preston
PPIE Executive Lead, NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health
We encourage healthcare professionals, researchers, and innovators to incorporate reflective practice into their own health innovation journeys and join in the conversation of how we can improve our PPIE approaches together.
Please use the links below to access the paper and find out more about our work with CYP and families.