BACKGROUND:
Health literacy (HL) as the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information (Sørensen et al. 2021) is key to improve individual health and reducing inequalities. Midwives play a crucial role in promoting parental HL during pregnancy and early parenthood, particularly for the prevention of allergies (Lander et al. 2023; Sommoggy et al. 2022) . In this context, a participatory intervention is developed by HELICAP research group to support midwives in delivering HL-sensitive advice. Design Thinking was used (Altman et al. 2018; Bazzano et al. 2017) within the updated MRC Framework for complex intervention development (Skivington et al. 2021; Roberts et al. 2016).

OBJECTIVES:
To explore how participatory design methods can support the development of an HL-sensitive advising intervention for midwifery education and practice.

METHODS:
A Design Thinking workshop was conducted at Southern Germany with midwives, students, psychologists, and educators. Twelve participants worked in interdisciplinary groups using structured materials. They followed five phases: Empathize (exploring needs and context), Define (summarizing challenges via personas), Ideate (developing and prioritizing solutions), Prototype (creating tangible models), and Test (presenting and reflecting on ideas). Researchers facilitated and documented the process; data were collected through observation, audio, photos, group discussions, digital feedback, and short interviews. Until 2026, further 32 participants will take part in conducted workshops.

RESULTS:
Prototypes included integrating HL into midwifery curricula with practical advice skills, and a continuing education model combining HL-sensitive counselling with self-reflection. Barriers and enablers of HL advising were identified, including institutional constraints and communication needs. Students were encouraged in contributing. Prototyping was widely perceived as engaging and rewarding, fostering ownership and creativity.

CONCLUSIONS:
Design Thinking supported midwives in co-developing relevant, feasible intervention ideas within early MRC Framework phases — enhancing implementation potential in education and practice.

KEY MESSAGE:
Participatory approaches empower midwives as innovators and strengthen the integration of new interventions. Poster session 3 (Group B)