Inclusive Design in Smart Healthcare: A Review of Research Themes and Target User Group

This paper presents a literature review of research at the intersection of inclusive design, healthcare, and smart technologies. The study analyses peer-reviewed publications identified through an AI-assisted search and screening process using the keywords “inclusive design”, “healthcare”, and “smart”. The aim is to identify dominant research themes and examine how user groups are represented in this body of literature. The results show that research is concentrated around smart and digital health technologies, healthcare environments, and conceptual design frameworks, with a strong focus on specific user categories such as older adults, people with disabilities, and patients with medical conditions. The findings highlight a tendency toward category-based approaches to inclusion, with limited consideration of broader and more complex forms of user diversity. The paper contributes to the field by providing a structured overview of current research and by reflecting on the implications of user representation for inclusive design in smart healthcare.