Co-creation, co-design, co-production for public health – a perspective on definitions and distinctions

Collaboration between community members, researchers, and policy makers drives efforts to solve complex health problems such as obesity, alcohol misuse, and type 2 diabetes. Community participation is essential to ensure the optimal design, implementation and evaluation of resulting initiatives. The terms 'co-creation', 'co-design' and 'co-production' have been used interchangeably to describe the development of initiatives involving multiple stakeholders. While commonalities exist across these concepts, they have essential distinctions for public health, particularly related to the role of stakeholders and the extent and timing of their engagement. We summarise these similarities and differences drawing from…

• MR
  Medical Research Council
• NH
  National Health and Medical Research Council

  Award: APP1152968