"I want [a] voice.” Reflections on using a co-production approach to improve Project QWERTY.

Abstract

Background: Project QWERTY is a free website where people with aphasia can practise their spelling and typing. The website was originally launched in 2022 following 2.5 years of development and has had 6,500 users to date. After securing a Monash Health Emerging Researcher Fellowship in 2023, the process began to revise and improve the website. Aims: To refine and scale-up Project QWERTY through coproduction, enhancing its accessibility, applicability and usability. Methods: A co-production methodology with consumer and stakeholder involvement was undertaken. The research team represented the different areas of expertise needed to co-develop Project QWERTY (i.e., lived experience of aphasia, clinicians, researchers, software engineering and product design). A group of people with aphasia and a clinician were onboarded as consultants to represent end users. Results: Co-production with team members and the consultants was an iterative process; the website underwent stages of review, usability testing and refinement to achieve optimal accessibility, applicability and usability. The website was then updated to reflect the new changes. Conclusion: A new version of the website has been launched with all changes the direct result of consultants’ recommendations. Producing an improved website has been the outcome of a deeply collaborative experience underpinned by free-flowing multidisciplinary knowledge exchange and a strong value for the expertise of those with lived experience. Feedback from research team members and consultants on participating in co-production has largely been positive, however, the journey was not without unique challenges. Importantly, consultants felt as though their voices were heard. In the first usability test, the consultants stated “I want [a] voice.” When asked if they felt they had a voice following completion of the project, one consultant with lived experience of aphasia replied “appreciate my ideas [were] implement[ed].”