In March 2022, the Cesar group hosted two international research weeks in Linköping, Sweden, arranged by Professor Anna Strömberg and Professor Tiny Jaarsma. The International Week aims to be a meeting point for junior and senior researchers to exchange experiences and knowledge, networking, and participate in different workshops.
Three workshops are planned and cover the topics Co-design, Tele-rehabilitation, and Palliative care. The first workshop was on co-design and was attended by colleagues from Israel, Island, the Netherlands, and Cesar members from Sweden. During the first day of the co-design workshop, Anna Strömberg and Frida Andréasson introduced the concept of co-design. They shared their experiences of using co-design in different projects, which was later discussed with all participants. Presentations were also held by Sara Petterson on co-design in her project that aims to develop an educational program for foreign-born persons with diabetes, and Heleen Westland on her project on self-care in patients with CRT.
“I found the workshop very inspiring. The presentations of the various co-design projects reflected the different ways in which co-design can be used. There was plenty of time to meet each other during the workshop and discuss specific issues/questions. The discussions of practical and methodological issues of co-design and its application to my project will definitely improve my project. Sharing our experiences and knowledge will continue after the workshop as we will start a co-design team in MS Team, “ Heleen says.
On the second day of the Co-design workshop, Jane Holstein presented the outline of her project on improving cultural competence in health care professionals. Brynja Ingadottir presented her co-design project including children when developing a health game to prepare preschool children for anesthesia. Link for Brynja’s paper https://games.jmir.org/2022/1/e31471
We are looking forward to the next workshop and are convinced that they will be as interesting as the first one! Hopefully, the international weeks will be an annual event that will appeal to both junior and senior researchers working within the area of cardiology.