Co-creation of activities to promote health and well-being of older people – a scoping review

Abstract

Abstract Background The global population is ageing and the need to promote health and well-being of this generation is essential. Co-creative practices can be solutions to welfare challenges in the health care sector and local policies. However, literature addressing co-creation of activities to promote health and well-being is sparse. The review aimed to identify health promotive activities co-created between the public and older people, the influence of co-creative activities on health and well-being of older people, and facilitators and barriers for doing co-creation. Methods We searched for peer-reviewed and grey literature in eight scientific and five non-scientific databases. Two reviewers independently screened publications for eligibility according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and extracted data. An inductive thematic content analysis was applied for the analysis. Results We included nineteen publications. Four themes related to co-creative activities emerged: “Social activities”, “Activities to create age-friendly environments”, “Discussions of healthy ageing”, and “Physical activities”. The co-creative activities influenced the overall well-being, and promoted active and healthy ageing, physical functioning, and quality of life. Identified facilitators for co-creation were the role of the facilitator, a supportive environment, recognition of competencies, while the main barriers were time and resources, and recruitment of participants. Conclusions Few studies have investigated co-creation of activities to promote health and well-being of older people. The included studies dealt with activities in any form and not merely social and physical activities co-created. Future co-creation of activities with older people should consider the role of facilitators, the environment in which the co-creation takes place and value time, resources, and competencies of participants. Key messages • Studies on co-creation of activities to promote health and well-being of older people is sparse and must be explored further. • Future research may focus on co-creation of social and physical activities to promote health and well-being of older people and consider known facilitators for co-creation.