In their own words: older persons' experiences of participating in co-creationShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Research Involvement and Engagement, E-ISSN 2056-7529, Vol. 11, no 1, article id 56Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Co-creation methods ensure that interventions are tailored to the target group by incorporating their unique insights and preferences, strengthen innovation, and facilitate implementation. Although co-creation research is becoming more common, most research exploring co-creation focuses on the researchers' perspectives rather than the experiences of the target population. By exploring these experiences, researchers can better understand the preferences for, and facilitators/barriers to, engagement and participation to inform future co-creation studies. This study aimed to explore older persons' experiences and insights into participating in co-creation of an intervention to prevent falls.
Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 community-dwelling older persons (aged 66–83 years) after their participation in a co-creation study developing an intervention for fall prevention. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis: Diversity of co-creators enriches understanding and creativity, Interactive activities promote learning, and Supportive environments enhance collaboration. These themes describe how participating in workshops with others deepened and broadened participants' knowledge and understanding of the subject and enabled them to contribute their experiences and perspectives. Discussing and testing exercises gave participants new insights into their physical abilities and the importance of exercise and a better understanding of the concept of motor-cognitive exercises and their role in everyday life. A respectful atmosphere where everyone shared responsibility for creating a supportive environment so all participants could express their thoughts was perceived as important by the participants.
Conclusions: The results underscore the potential for co-creation to enhance participants' knowledge and understanding of the topic, as well as their own capacity. For researchers, it is important to consider how to foster an inclusive and supportive environment, thereby boosting participation, engagement and collaboration.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BioMed Central (BMC), 2025. Vol. 11, no 1, article id 56
Keywords [en]
Co-creation, Fall prevention, Older persons, Subjective experience
National Category
Gerontology, specialising in Medical and Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-239642DOI: 10.1186/s40900-025-00725-zPubMedID: 40420211Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105006454897OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-239642DiVA, id: diva2:1964745
Funder
Swedish Dementia Centre2025-06-052025-06-052025-06-05Bibliographically approved