Generating user-driven patient personas to support preventive health care activities of rural-living unattached patients

Objective This study created personas using quantitative segmentation and knowledge user enhancement to inform intervention and service design for rural patients to encourage preventive care uptake. Methods This study comprised a cross-sectional survey of rural unattached patients and a co-design workshop for persona development. Cross-sectional survey data were analyzed for meaningful subgroups based on quartiles of preventive care completion. These quartiles informed “relevant user segments” grouped according to demographics (age, sex), length of unattachment, percentage of up-to-date preventive activities, health care visit frequency, preventive priorities, communication confidence with providers, and chronic health conditions, which were then used in the workshop to build the final personas. Results 207 responses informed persona user segments, and five healthcare providers and 13 patients attended the workshop. The resulting four personas, included John (not up-to-date on preventive care activities), Terrance (few up-to-date preventive care activities), George (moderately up-to-date preventive care activities), and Anne (mostly up-to-date preventive care activities). Conclusion Quantitative persona development with integrated knowledge user co-design/enhancement elevated and enriched final personas that achieved robust profiles for intervention design. Innovation This project's use of a progressive methodology to build robust personas coupled with participant feedback on the co-design process offers a replicable approach for health researchers.