A comparison of office workers’ co-creation experiences: A Health CASCADE multiple case study

Objectives: Co-creation can used to develop public health interventions, improve their effectiveness, and increase intervention uptake through engaging stakeholders, but there is little in-depth exploration of the co-creators’ experience of taking part. Understanding the experience of taking part in a co-creation process can enhance future participation experiences, promote engagement and help design better co-creation processes in the future. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of co-creators (i.e., office workers) involved in the co-creation process to address workplace sedentary behaviour. Study design: Multiple case study. Methods: Three small-to-medium sized enterprises participated in separate co-creation processes. Data were generated from observations during the workshops and semi-structured interviews (n = 31) employing elicitation techniques conducted after the co-creation process was completed. Each of the three cases were analysed separately (using thematic analysis), which then informed the cross-case comparison, the focus of this study. Results: Comparison of co-creators' experiences across the three cases identified psychological, emotional, social and cognitive experiences which occurred before, during and after the co-creation process. The analysis identified both intended (e.g., sedentary behaviour awareness) and unintended (e.g., forming relationships) outcomes from these experiences. These experiences and outcomes were influenced by factors such as workplace environment and structure, design of the co-creation process and how it was facilitated, highlighting the interplay between the co-creation context and the broader work context. Conclusion: This study contributes to the understanding of co-creation experience in the workplace setting. Recommendations were derived from using an iterative reflection process of the three cases.