Co-Creation of Interventions to Promote Critical Health Literacy in the Community: Study Protocol

A new community centre in a district with a high amount of equity deserving populations in Halle (Saale), Germany provides a space to design and implement health-related services that reflect the needs and priorities of local residents. Health information often fails to meet existing quality standards. Therefore, strengthening critical health literacy is essential. Co-creation is a participatory approach that addresses needs by involving community members as equal partners in the joint development of ideas, concepts and interventions. The study aims to co-create interventions with residents of the community to promote critical health literacy.

The study will be conducted as an iterative co-creation process and feasibility study using both qualitative and quantitative methods, based on the PRODUCES+ framework and guided by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. In phase I, co-creators engage in a multi-step co-creation process involving participatory workshops and focus group interviews to explore community health needs, information behaviours and to co-develop tailored interventions. Interest-holders representing local institutions are continuously involved to ensure contextual relevance and sustainability. The co-creation process will be evaluated using the PROSECO framework. In phase II, the developed interventions will undergo feasibility testing and pilot implementation within the newly established community centre, using qualitative and quantitative methods such as think-aloud, observations, interviews and questionnaires.

The study is expected to develop interventions that will strengthen critical health literacy and empower residents to make informed health decisions. It will also provide insights into mechanisms and success factors of co-creation.