Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
July 9, 2026
Summary:
Background:
Common mental health conditions are increasing in England, with growing severity and unmet need. Evidence shows that mental wellbeing is strongly shaped by wider social determinants such as income, housing, employment, and relationships. Conventional clinical approaches may not adequately address these underlying factors, highlighting the need for preventative, community-based solutions.
Aim:
This paper describes the community involvement and engagement (CEI) approach used to develop CoSign, a digital signposting tool designed to help individuals identify social determinants contributing to mental distress and access appropriate community support.
Involvement and engagement approach:
The development of CoSign incorporated CEI throughout the research process, guided by the INVOLVE research-cycle framework and the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation. A total of 29 stakeholders—including healthcare professionals, voluntary sector representatives, policymakers, and individuals with lived experience—contributed through workshops, consultations, and collaborative activities. Engagement focused on shaping the tool’s design, content, accessibility, and implementation considerations.
Activities and impact:
Stakeholder input informed key aspects of CoSign, including the identification of relevant domains of need, refinement of language to improve accessibility, and the structure of the user experience. Practical considerations, such as service capacity, inclusivity, and potential barriers to engagement, were highlighted and addressed. The resulting web-based tool enables users to self-identify areas of social need and receive tailored signposting to community resources. CEI enhanced the relevance, acceptability, and usability of the tool.
Conclusion:
Meaningful community involvement is essential in developing accessible, preventative mental health tools grounded in real-world needs. However, challenges such as limited resources, stakeholder fatigue, and equity in participation must be managed. The CoSign project demonstrates the value of CEI while underscoring the importance of flexible, context-sensitive approaches to engagement.
Published in
Research Involvement and Engagement
Volume
Volume: 12:111
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-026-00939-9
ISSN
20567529
Subjects
Notes
© The Author(s) 2026.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
In relation to the technical research undertaken to develop the tool, the project itself used data from waves 9–14 of Understanding Society: the United Kingdom Longitudinal Study
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