Lay summary
Disabled people possess valuable expertise in maintaining their health and wellbeing. While government strategies emphasise their voices should guide health service design, this is often not realised in practice, leading to gaps in care and access barriers. This work will enhance the health system’s capacity by developing validated methods for incorporating the voices of disabled people into service evaluation, design and delivery. Collaborating with disabled people, we will examine how to best include them, and explore with Te Whatu Ora Health NZ policy planners what enables or hinders their meaningful participation. Next, in partnership with disabled people and policy staff, we will co-design practical tools to improve the inclusivity and effectiveness of health service design in a live setting. To develop these methods, we will jointly explore ways to improve access to health and rehabilitation services for non-ACC funded disabled adults, thereby co-designing health services that support timely, comprehensive care.