By Katrina Messiha, a Marie Skłodowska–Curie PhD Fellow at Amsterdam UMC.
Recently, I learned about Rypple in relation to an advisory board role for public health co-creation. Rypple is a start-up dedicated to transforming health through meaningful stakeholder engagement. As a PhD Fellow working in the Health CASCADE project, where I focus on evidence-based co-creation to address public health challenges, I was intrigued by Rypple's mission to leverage individual actions for collective benefit.
The Ripple Effect of Rypple
The name “Rypple” cleverly suggests the “ripple effect”, demonstrating how small, individual actions can lead tonoticeable (positive) changes in communities. By encouraging active engagement among key stakeholders, Rypple aims to empower individuals to take charge of their health and well-being. When people feel connected and invested in their health journeys, they are more likely to inspire others to participate. This sense of community fosters a supportive environment where collective action thrives, leading to improved public health outcomes and greater resilience. Through these efforts, Rypple strives to create a network of engaged individuals who can drive meaningful change together.
I recently spoke with Ushma Issar to learn more about her start-up, which focuses on innovative policy development. She highlighted that a key aspect of their work involves adapting carbon tax mechanisms for health systems. This perspective is noteworthy, as adapting carbon tax mechanisms aims to promote preventive care by encouraging healthier lifestyle choices, thereby alleviating the burden on healthcare systems through disease prevention.
This discussion brings to mind the concept of co-design. Co-design entails collaborating with stakeholders during the solution design process to develop policies that reflect stakeholder’s needs and insights. In this context, it can be applied by engaging healthcare professionals, community members and policymakers to create effective carbon tax mechanisms that foster preventive health strategies.
Moreover, considering co-production adds another layer to this discussion. Co-production involves engaging stakeholders in the implementation of previously established solutions to an agreed-upon problem, with an emphasis on optimising the use of available resources.
However, this raises questions about the scope of the problem statement and the solution design. It highlights some challenges in understanding the boundaries of co-creation as an overarching principle since both co-design and co-production fit within co-creation.
Health CASCADE defines co-creation as, “an evidence-based methodology for the development, implementation and evaluation of innovations through continuous, open collaboration, interactive knowledge production and shared decision-making among key stakeholders, aimed at improving public health”.
The Cascading Impact of Health CASCADE
The Health CASCADE project represents a systematic effort to address complex societal challenges through co-creation. Funded by the European Union under the Marie Skłodowska Curie Innovative Training Networks programme (H2020 MSCA ITN, Project number 956501), Health CASCADE is designed to promote active collaboration among key and relevant stakeholders across various sectors and disciplines. At the heart of Health CASCADE is a multidisciplinary network of young researchers from around the world, dedicated to integrating rigorous scientific methodologies with practical applications. This project aims to establish co-creation as a reliable and effective approach for solving contemporary health issues. By developing and testing theories, methods and technologies in real-world contexts - including health, industry, education, urban planning and social care - Health CASCADE seeks to create scalable solutions that can be adapted to diverse settings. We have some open-source blogs as well as resources and tools to already get you started!
As the world faces ongoing health challenges, integrating co-creation into research designs can yield more effective solutions. By doing so, public health projects can better respond to the needs of stakeholders, ensuring that initiatives can be of more relevance and impact. But just like a stone tossed into water, creating those ripples and cascades can lead to a bit of messy fun along the way!
Comentários