Theorizing How Context Influences School-Based Interventions That Support Children's Weight Management: Co-Producing...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Systems Science
• Childhood Obesity Research

Background:

• School-based interventions are key for child weight management but show variable effectiveness due to context.
• Co-production of research and complex systems models enhance understanding of intervention contexts.
• Gaps exist in understanding co-production's role in prioritizing research and assessing its value.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify contextual features for school weight management interventions (physical activity, nutrition, mental well-being).
• Evaluate the impact of co-production on research processes and outcomes.
• Document lessons learned from developing and refining a logic model through co-production.

Main Methods:

• Collaborative workshops to refine a theoretical framework of contextual influences.
• Critical review of co-production evaluation frameworks, leading to a new approach.
• Surveys and workshop feedback to assess co-production value and process.

Main Results:

• A refined logic model prioritizing systemic and policy factors over individual behaviors.
• Reduced model complexity and increased emphasis on life course and environmental factors.
• Co-production yielded unexpected, transformational impacts, with identified needs for clearer communication on roles and expectations.

Conclusions:

• The refined model supports a shift from personal responsibility narratives in child health.
• Co-produced theoretical frameworks are practical and valuable for reshaping research focus.
• Co-production challenges assumptions and reshapes research priorities from the outset.