"Active Patient Support" - Co-creating health care in collaboration with patients

“Active Patient Support” (APS) is a new national counselling initiative for patients with multiple chronic diseases in Denmark. APS aims to empower patients in strategies of self-care by counselling them them to tackle issues related to living with their illnesses. To achieve this aim, Region Zealand is carrying out a research project designed to develop and implement a communication model to be used to improve APS coaching. In the project, a group of patients and nurses, together with researchers, co-create knowledge about building beneficial and dialogical partnerships that can mpower patients and nurses.empower patients and nurses.

The research project has a collaborative, participatory design building on Action Research and Dialogue Communication Theory. The project has two phases: 1) an exploratory, data production phase that follows ten patients through the coaching period using participant observation, interviews and patient diaries; 2) a design and implementation phase based on two sets of workshops with patients and nurses. The workshopsuse the data producedin phase 1 as a foundation for joint exploration applying participatory dialogue methods (eg photo elicitation, forum theatre and practice narratives).


photo elicitation, forum theatre and practice narratives).