Quantitative research methods alone cannot capture the depth and complexity of people’s lived and living experiences within the mental health system. This presentation makes the case for qualitative, design-led research approaches as essential complements to traditional methods. Grounded in human-centred and co-design practice, these approaches involve creating with people, learning alongside them to understand the drivers of negative experiences and outcomes. Providing insight into the underlying phenomena that shape consumer experiences, enabling actionable findings that inform better service design.
Healthdirect, a national leader in digital primary healthcare provides a "front door" to the healthcare system through scalable telehealth and virtual services. In 2025, work began to expand this virtual front door to deliver seamless statewide access to mental health advice, assessment, and care connection for consumers, carers, and health professionals in NSW. Virtual and digital mental health services expand access to care by enabling scalable support to be delivered across locations and to diverse groups. To achieve this, the service must become a healthcare option of choice and meet the access and engagement needs of diverse people and communities.
The presentation will share how the Consumer Experience team at Healthdirect moved beyond traditional research methodologies to use design-led techniques to help lived experience research participants engage with intangible aspects and moments of service experiences that inevitably impact consumer outcomes. Through live prototyping and the use of creative artefacts, participants were able to ‘feel’ what a new service might be like, enabling them to encounter and articulate needs and barriers they were not yet consciously aware of.
This approach provided deep and actionable insights that were translated into design choices, informing the service delivery approach, technical enhancement, workforce training and data analytics and reporting.

Quantitative research methods alone cannot capture the depth and complexity of people’s lived and living experiences within the mental health system. This presentation makes the case for qualitative, design-led research approaches as essential complements to traditional methods. Grounded in human-centred and co-design practice, these approaches involve creating with people, learning alongside them to understand the drivers of negative experiences and outcomes. Providing insight into the underlying phenomena that shape consumer experiences, enabling actionable findings that inform better service design.
Healthdirect, a national leader in digital primary healthcare provides a "front door" to the healthcare system through scalable telehealth and virtual services. In 2025, work began to expand this virtual front door to deliver seamless statewide access to mental health advice, assessment, and care connection for consumers, carers, and health professionals in NSW. Virtual and digital mental health services expand access to care by enabling scalable support to be delivered across locations and to diverse groups. To achieve this, the service must become a healthcare option of choice and meet the access and engagement needs of diverse people and communities.
The presentation will share how the Consumer Experience team at Healthdirect moved beyond traditional research methodologies to use design-led techniques to help lived experience research participants engage with intangible aspects and moments of service experiences that inevitably impact consumer outcomes. Through live prototyping and the use of creative artefacts, participants were able to ‘feel’ what a new service might be like, enabling them to encounter and articulate needs and barriers they were not yet consciously aware of.
This approach provided deep and actionable insights that were translated into design choices, informing the service delivery approach, technical enhancement, workforce training and data analytics and reporting.

Three Key Learnings
1. Creative design-led methodologies that can be applied to co-design, human-centred design and qualitative research in digital mental health services.
2. How insights from these approaches were translated into the design of a virtual mental health service.
3. Experience live prototyping and the insights that this can generate to inform design and steps you can take to apply these approaches to mental health service co-design.