UserInvolve: Developing sustainable user involvement practices in community mental health

UserInvolve is a collaboration between Swedish universities, the organised user movement and welfare actors in the field of mental health. The purpose is to increase knowledge about involvement and participation for people with experience of mental illness and the strategies that exist or need to be developed to increase influence at the individual, business, and system level. We want to contribute to the development of sustainable user involvement through so-called co-production where researchers, welfare actors and users participate.

UserInvolve consists of an interdisciplinary research group with members from Swedish universities as well as people from the National Partnership for Mental Health (NSPH) with responsibility for coordinating the work towards the user movement. In addition, there is a national reference group, an international expert group and specific thematic forums linked to the program.

The programme focuses on user involvement and user participation. The aim is to investigate the current situation in terms of strategies for involvement and participation at the individual, business and system level, but also to develop sustainable user influence through co-production where the research community, welfare actors and user organizations participate.