Introduction: People with disability and unpaid carers experience disproportionately high rates of social isolation, stress, and poorer physical and mental health. These challenges are compounded by barriers to community participation and limited access to inclusive health-promoting environments. Digital health interventions grounded in psychological theory and participatory design offer new opportunities to enhance social connection and wellbeing in this population.


Purpose: This study aimed to co-design and evaluate ConnectUp, an online platform developed to foster social connectedness, local engagement, and physical activity among people with disability and carers. The project sought to identify how principles of accessibility, inclusion, and empowerment can inform digital intervention design and implementation.


Method: Twelve iterative co-design sessions were conducted with fifteen participants (people with disability and carers), led by individuals with lived experience. Sessions included paper prototyping, design critique, ranking exercises, and facilitated discussions. All data were video recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using an inductive approach. Thematic synthesis was triangulated with user engagement analytics from the platform's Minimum Viable Product (MVP) phase.


Results: Three central themes emerged: (1) Accessibility as a psychological and design foundation—ensuring usability and trust; (2) Meaningful inclusion—embedding co-production and lived experience across all design phases; and (3) Citizen science and empowerment—supporting users to create, share, and use local wellbeing knowledge. Preliminary user feedback suggests ConnectUp enhances perceived social connection, confidence, and community belonging.


Conclusions: Co-designing digital interventions with end users fosters psychological ownership, inclusion, and empowerment—key mechanisms underpinning sustained wellbeing. ConnectUp demonstrates how participatory design can translate psychological principles into scalable, inclusive digital health solutions that promote social participation and mental health.