Facilitating Co-production in Health Promotion: Study of Senior Councils in Poland

Purpose: Health promotion is one of the core functions of public health which should be even more strongly recognized as a public good in the time of Covid-19 crisis. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the possibility of using the mechanisms of co-production in health and social care services. Design/Methodology/Approach: Drawing on a literature review, analysis of documents, observation of practices, and an opinion survey, this paper sheds light on the role of Senior Councils in co-production of health promotion activities and explores the requisite conditions for positive results of co-production. Findings: The research shows that SC are active co-producers in the field of health promotion. Through the co-production of the health promotion activities members of SC receive personal benefits with spillover effects for the whole society and in this way contribute to increasing the wellbeing of the elderly and co-creating the public value. The identified conditions of co-production effectiveness are active engagement of users, mutual trust, co-production capability, willingness of the co-producers to contribute, and users’ motivation to co-produce. Practical Implications: The identification of the factors requisite for the positive results of co-production in health promotion may constitute practical recommendations for policy-makers and public managers which help them better fulfilled societal needs by social policy in the public sphere, and senior policy in particular. Originality/Value: The co-production of health promotion activities is conducive to the maintenance of health and prevention of disease, thus helping improve the wellbeing of seniors which constitutes the personal value for them. There is also the spillover effect of this co-production for the whole society which constitutes the public value.