gms | German Medical Science

Background: There are plenty brain-training applications and online programs that focus on specific areas of brain health such as memory or attention. Most of them have an inadequate theoretical basis and research evidence. They rarely meet the user requirements of people with memory disease. The Memory Park project was initiated in order to respond to these challenges.

Aim: The Muistipuisto project (2016–2018) aimed at co-creating an online service with the focus of brain health of people with memory disease and elderly population. The service should have a holistic theoretical basis and it should meet the users’ specific needs.

Method: Service design principles [1], such as human centered, co-creation and rapid experimentation, were implemented in the iterative process. At first the users and their needs were defined by workshops and stakeholder questionnaires. The data were combined with the research evidence on brain health [2], [3]. Next user requirements were defined, user profiles developed, and the first minimal viable service tested. After five rounds of prototyping the service was launched with continuous data gathering on service use and value.

Results/findings: The project involved 2000 people, ensuring service value, satisfaction and usability. The feedback indicates, that the service provides a meaningful way for enhancing brain health in the areas of cognitive training, mental wellbeing, exercise, brain healthy diet, and music and memories.

Discussion and conclusions: Service design thinking provides new perspectives for improving existing online rehabilitation services and creating new ones. Yet multimodal iterative process holds also methodological challenges.