Lived experience of participants who engaged in the co-creation of initiatives to improve children's health in a rural Australian community

Abstract

Objective: To describe participants' lived experience of co-creating and implementing initiatives to improve children's health.

Design: This manuscript reports an embedded case study design, which aims to describe participants' lived experiences of co-creating community-based initiatives. Information was gathered from an online survey and two focus groups. The two transcribed discussions from the focus groups were analysed using a 6-step phenomenological process.

Setting: Mansfield, Australia, population 4787, is one of ten local government areas (LGA) participating in the Reflexive Evidence and Systems Interventions to Prevent Obesity and Non-communicable Disease (RESPOND) project.

Participants: Participants were purposively selected from established community groups previously engaged by RESPOND using a co-creation approach. The recruitment for the focus groups was a convenient sampling from participants that provided their email addresses in the online survey.

Results: Eleven participants completed the online survey. A total of ten participants attended the two focus groups of 1-h duration: five participants in each. Participants reported feeling empowered to create unique, locally relevant and readily adaptable community-wide change. They were supported by a strong partnership that mobilised funding for a part-time health promotion employee. Strengthened social connections were an unexpected though highly valued outcome.

Conclusion: Co-creation processes may assist stakeholders in delivering prevention strategies in ways that are empowering for them, responsive to the changing needs of the community, strengthen organisational partnerships and enhance community participation, social inclusion and engagement.

Keywords: co-creation; community-led; healthy eating; obesity prevention; physical activity; rural health.