From Co-creation to Community Action - Exploring Collaborative and Capacity-building Approaches to Childhood Health Promotion

PhD defence by Maja Vilhelmsen

Assessment Committee

[Associate professor Signe Smith Jervelund, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Professor Helle Terkildsen Maindal, Aarhus University
Associate professor Margareta Rämgård, Malmö University

Supervisors

Professor Ulla Marie Nørgaard Toft
Paul Bloch
Postdoc Didde Høeg

Department

Department of Public Health

Graduate Programme

Public Health and Epidemiology

Place

Building: Herlev Hospital, Room: Det lille auditorium, Borgmester Ib Juuls Vej 1, 2730 Herlev

Email address to gain access to the thesis: maja.vilhelmsen@regionh.dk.
You will either receive a copy of the thesis or be informed where you can read a physical copy.
Recipients of copies of the thesis are not allowed to share or distribute it due to copyright compliance.

Short description of the thesis

How can local communities serve as effective settings for childhood health promotion? This PhD explores how co-creation among local stakeholders—such as schools, municipalities, and community organizations—can strengthen efforts to promote children’s health and wellbeing. Based on initiatives in six Danish communities participating in the multi-setting intervention Generation Healthy Kids, this research examines how collaboration and co-creation are fostered, how children’s perspectives can inform community action, and how community engagement and capacity for health promotion develop over time. By focusing on coordinated efforts within communities, this work highlights the potential of co-creative collaboration to create supportive environments for children’s health.