Interdisciplinary training for health promotion interventions
Traditional, siloed approaches are no longer adequate for tackling major public health challenges of our time. A rise in chronic conditions, emerging mental health issues, pandemics and deep-rooted health inequities reflect not just medical problems, but complex societal challenges. This makes specialists combining varied skills and knowledge key to protecting human health into the future. “What’s needed is not only interdisciplinary expertise, but transdisciplinary and trans-sectoral collaboration,” explains Sebastien Chastin(opens in new window), professor of Health Behaviour Dynamics at Glasgow Caledonian University(opens in new window) and coordinator of the Health CASCADE(opens in new window) project. “That means going beyond bridging academic disciplines to actively working across institutional, professional and societal boundaries. This is the essence of co-creation.” To fulfil this need, the Health CASCADE project, undertaken with the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions(opens in new window) programme, sought to establish a European network to train the next generation of scientists. The aim was to give them cross-disciplinary scientific expertise, and equip them to collaborate across sectors such as healthcare, government and civil society. “Health CASCADE reflects a necessary shift from top-down, expert-driven models to collaborative, systems-based solutions,” says Chastin. Central to the project was the integration of new digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance and support the co-creation process. This was used for example to analyse complex qualitative data and to support decision-making.
Creating a long-lasting European training network
The Health CASCADE project was designed to deliver a world-class training programme for 15 doctoral candidates, equipping them with the skills needed to become leaders in the emerging field of co-creation in public health. The training programme covered a broad range of topics, from qualitative and quantitative research methods, to research dissemination and communication, public engagement and project and data management. “The training was responsive, and candidates were encouraged to co-shape the programme by suggesting topics and methods that best supported their needs,” notes Chastin. Beyond the training, candidates took part in international secondments with partner organisations to broaden their skills and build professional networks. The project also built a transdisciplinary ecosystem for co-creation science, with shared tools, open training resources and collaborative processes between institutions. “We aimed to build a lasting infrastructure for transformative, co-created science in public health,” adds Chastin.
Advancing the concept of co-creation
Health CASCADE has shown how the application of digital technologies can facilitate co-creation as a viable scientific methodology in public health. A robust scientific foundation for the theory, methods, technologies and evaluation strategies was established, which can now be built upon. “We are particularly proud of having delivered dozens of co-creation projects across Europe, working directly with communities, health professionals, policymakers and other stakeholders to address real-world challenges,” remarks Chastin. “These projects served as living laboratories – testing, refining and validating our methodologies in diverse contexts and with diverse populations.”
Establishing co-creation within European healthcare
The researchers hope that the work of Health CASCADE will help to mainstream co-creation as a core approach within European healthcare systems, as an evidence-based method to address complex health challenges. The team is now working to set up a dedicated social enterprise focused on building capacity for co-creation across Europe and beyond. Research will continue into avenues such as hybrid collective intelligence and trans-sectoral co-creation, through new doctoral networks, including the Data2Action(opens in new window) project. “We see this as a long-term movement with a growing ecosystem of people, organisations and ideas committed to redefining how knowledge and solutions are created for the public good,” says Chastin.