Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Policy
• Disability Studies

Context:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted established democratic health mechanisms.
• Official channels for partnership and participation in health were undermined.
• Informal, field-driven mechanisms emerged during the crisis.

Purpose:

• To analyze the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on health and disability partnerships between 2020-2021.
• To understand how the pandemic influenced cooperation between health and medico-social sectors.
• To identify emergent collaborative practices and creative initiatives.

Summary:

• Lexical analysis of participant responses revealed challenges in health and medico-social cooperation.
• The pandemic exposed difficulties but also fostered new inter-actor operations.
• Creative initiatives and novel collaborations emerged from the crisis.

Impact:

• Findings suggest a paradigm shift in recognizing diverse knowledge systems.
• This includes valuing the contributions of users, professionals, and decision-makers.
• Promotes a more inclusive and pluralistic approach to health and disability policy.