Editorial: How can We Co-Create Solutions in Health Promotion With Users and Stakeholders?

Abstract

Participatory approaches have become an integral part in various fields of public health and health promotion research. These approaches have the potential to allow the production of deeper knowledge of complex health issues by valuing and incorporating the different perspectives and experiences of key actors closely related to the subject of the research (1). The hallmark of participatory research is the establishment of equitable research partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders such as public health professionals, health activists, government officials, and citizens (2, 3). Participatory or co-creation approaches serve as a guiding principle to ensure stakeholder engagement throughout all the stages of the research and program development phases including developing, refining, and implementing. Originally, co-creation is a concept from management science and software design and is focused on achieving synergistic effects through user participation in the design processes. Co-creation in health promotion aims to improve the life of those who are subjects of research by empowering them to contribute to the research process and outcomes to better advocate for transformative initiatives and changes in public policies that address their health needs (4–7). Such participation asks for a systematic reflection of underlying power relations in the research process through dialog, recursive methods of understanding, joint planning, and co-design. However, reaching a high level of participation from a variety of stakeholders in health research is an exigent process that requires monetary and non-monetary resources. Although both the academic researchers and community co-researchers are considered capable of contributing to knowledge building, often ensuring that all the parties are fully involved in the research process is a hurdle (8) and stakeholder engagement is required (9).