Dharug Place – A Design Research Platform for Real-World Digital Health

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  • 2026

  • Design Research

Designed By:

Commissioned By:

Australian Digital Health Agency

Designed In:

Australia

Dharug Place is a purpose-built design research platform enabling real-world evaluation of digital health solutions. It combines immersive environments, human-centred research methods and behavioural data capture to generate robust evidence that improves safety, usability and system performance prior to national implementation across Australia’s healthcare system.


Dharug Place configured as a general practice environment Gawura demonstrating a realistic clinical setting used for codesign usability testing and observation of digital health solutions p.jpg
Integrated audiovisual infrastructure and Tobii Pro eyetracking technology support lowintrusion data capture enabling evidencebased evaluation of digital health workflows and interfac.jpg
Ngurra meeting and showcase space designed as a contemporary campfire for shared understanding playback of research findings and crosssector decisionmaking.jpg
Playback and discussion of usability testing findings within Dharug Place enabling clinicians researchers and government teams to collaboratively interpret evidence and refine digital health sol.jpg
Purposebuilt observation room with oneway glazing enabling behavioural research and clinician-consumer interaction studies without disrupting authentic care delivery.jpg
Residential aged care and home environment Wirriga enabling testing of digital health solutions within domestic settings to ensure accessibility safety and relevance beyond clinical environmen.jpg
The same experiential environment rapidly reconfigured to simulate alternative care settings eg hospital illustrating Dharug Places modular design and ability to support multiple healthcar.jpg
  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE

  • Digital health initiatives often fail when solutions are tested outside real-world conditions, limiting understanding of clinician and consumer behaviour. The challenge was to design a research platform capable of generating robust, ethical, real-world evidence across multiple care contexts without disrupting live services. It needed to support co-design, usability testing and behavioural observation; integrate advanced data capture technologies; enable rapid environmental reconfiguration; and deliver actionable insights for policy, design and implementation decisions. The platform also had to ensure accessibility, safety and cultural respect while producing reliable evidence to inform national digital health investments and reduce implementation risk.

  • Dharug Place is an integrated design research ecosystem combining modular, reconfigurable care environments with embedded research infrastructure, including observation rooms, audio-visual capture and eye-tracking technologies. Structured co-design, usability, behavioural and observational methods are conducted within simulated contexts such as general practice, hospital, aged care and home environments. The platform supports rigorous, repeatable studies while enabling rapid reconfiguration across scenarios. Cultural framing through Aboriginal naming embeds meaning and respect within the research process. By aligning spatial design, methodology and data capture, Dharug Place functions as a complete evidence-generation system informing digital health design, policy and implementation decisions before national rollout.

  • Dharug Place has supported 32 research activities within its first year, including co-design sessions, usability testing and time-and-motion studies. Insights have directly informed national initiatives such as ePrescriptions, the myhealth app (now 1800 MEDICARE) and My Health Record improvements. By generating real-world evidence prior to implementation, it reduces risk, improves usability and accelerates adoption. The platform strengthens collaboration across government, clinicians, researchers and industry, enabling shared interpretation of findings and more confident decision-making. Its outputs influence policy, service design and product development, demonstrating how design-led research translates into measurable improvements in safety, experience and system performance across Australia’s healthcare system.

  • Integrated design-led research methodology: Combines co-design, usability testing, ethnographic observation and behavioural analytics within a single, cohesive research platform.Real-world simulation: Immersive environments replicate clinical and home settings, enabling authentic user behaviour and realistic workflow testing across multiple care contexts.Human factors instrumentation: Embedded eye-tracking, audio-visual capture and an observation room support low-intrusion data collection and detailed behavioural analysis.Rapid reconfiguration: Modular design enables repeated experimentation and testing across diverse care scenarios within the same footprint.Collaborative interpretation: Ngurra facilitates playback, synthesis and shared understanding, supporting evidence translation across clinicians, researchers and policymakers.Culturally grounded research practice: Aboriginal naming and spatial meaning align place, purpose and research activity, reinforcing respect, connection and shared understanding.Evidence-to-decision pipeline: Findings are directly translated into policy, service and product improvements at national scale.Future-ready infrastructure: Adaptable systems enable the platform to evolve alongside emerging technologies and changing healthcare needs.