Com-CooP - A community-based participatory research project to co-design collaborative prevention of deterioration of health in older adults

As the population ages, the number of older people at risk for deterioration of health is expected to increase. This may imply decreased quality of life for the individual and rising costs for social and health care.

As health is a far too complex area to be handled by one actor, this project targets collaboration in the welfare society to prevent deterioration of health. This includes the actors municipal social care, health care, the civic society, older adults, and relatives.

There is a lack of research that takes a systems perspective of how to collaborate within and across organizations to prevent older adults’ deterioration of health.

The aim is to investigate, co-design and evaluate models of collaborative prevention of deterioration of health among older adults living in the community.

This will be conducted through a community-based participatory research in a multiple case study and explores:older adults’ use of social and health care, and which actors are involved or could be involved to achieve collaborative preventionwhat models of collaborative prevention is co-designed, and how collaboration is manifested in practicewhat agreed upon goals for collaboration are achieved, and what types of impact of collaborative prevention do actors identify as particularly significantin what ways the participatory research process influences actors and researchers, knowledge production and implementation of resultsThis project will produce innovative forms of collaboration to achieve effective coherent services that will help individuals maintain their health for as long as possible.

The project’s both client and practice-oriented approaches will enable tailoring to local contexts and allow us to perform high-quality  research that is relevant for users and more easily integrated into everyday practice.