9.H. Scientific session: From Complexity to Action: Strengthening Evaluation and Co-creation in Public Health Interventions

Abstract Health literacy has gained increasing importance on the European Public Health agenda, serving as a critical resource for empowering the school community and encouraging participation in health promotion activities. Participatory methods have become central in public health and health promotion, facilitating inquiry and response to complex health challenges. These approaches highlight the diverse perspectives and experiences of key stakeholders-children, teachers, school staff, families, local authorities, and others-who are directly involved in the health ecosystem. Building equitable partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders is essential to ensure meaningful engagement throughout the entire development process, from identifying needs to designing, developing and implementing strategies and interventions or programs. Active participation requires continuous reflection on equity and power dynamics, fostered through dialogue and co-planning and co-evaluation. This workshop will feature three presentations from international research teams, followed by a moderated panel and breakout discussion. It aims to equip participants with the knowledge to effectively engage diverse stakeholders in co-approaches for developing health promotion programs and Health literacy interventions. The format of this workshop will be 3x15-minute presentations followed by a 15-minute discussion, reflecting the relevance of the results to public health research, practice and policy. The first presentation will discuss the effects of co-designing HL activities on HL and learning outcomes in children from primary schools. The second presentation will discuss the co-development of a school-based peer-to-peer intervention to improve adolescent mental HL. The third presentation will emphasize the co-creating health interventions with children. Through interactive discussions, participants will explore participatory approaches such as co-creation/design, assess community needs, and design inclusive strategies and programs that foster health promotion and health literacy. The session will emphasize the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, power-sharing, and culturally responsive interventions to ensure meaningful and lasting impact. It advocates for a paradigm shift-from assessing “what works” in isolation to understanding “what works, for whom, under what circumstances,” thereby enhancing implementation and impact. Key messages • Evaluating complex interventions requires a shift toward participatory and co-creation approaches. • Co-creation and community engagement are essential for meaningful, actionable public health implementation and evaluation.