This paper describes the co-design process used to develop a lifestyle support mobile health (mHealth) programme tailored to the cultural needs and context of Māori and Pasifika in New Zealand. The co-design partnership-building process involved Māori and Pasifika partners and an academic research team that worked with communities to co-create the intervention. Focus groups were held with the end users of the mHealth programme (members of Māori and/or Pasifika communities) to understand what aspects of health and wellbeing were wanted by the community and what they considered to be important. The participatory framework of the co-design process determined how the end users envisaged the mHealth tool; this information led to prototype testing and a process of refinement based on input from the community partners regarding the final content, features and functionalities of the smartphone app, which was deemed to be the optimal vehicle for the intervention. The app was developed in both Māori and Pasifika versions so that the features and functionalities would be culturally tailored and appealing to users.
