Community and consumer participation in Australian health services

Johnson, Anne; Silburn, Kate

doi:10.1071/ah000113a

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Consumer engagement in healthcare is widely accepted as valuable and is linked with improvements in both quality and safety of healthcare services. 1 This, in part, is due to the unique and diverse perspectives of our community and consumers who use these services. The cancer treatment journey is often complex and lengthy, with multiple medical and allied health professionals required to work in unison to ensure optimal outcomes for patients, this is especially true for the ABCPTR who will be servicing the national population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2023 the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research (ABCPTR) embarked on creating a consumer engagement team with the primary goal to establish a consumer advisory group to advise on proton beam therapy from a patient and community perspective. Consumer engagement in healthcare is widely accepted as valuable and is linked with improvements in both quality and safety of healthcare services 1 . This, in part, is due to the unique and diverse perspectives of our community and consumers who use these services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Establishing a consumer advisory group at the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research

Penfold,

Gorayski,

Green

et al. 2023

J of Medical Radiation Sci

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The Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research (ABCPTR) established the Bragg Consumer Advisory Group (BCAG) in 2023. The ABCPTR, being the first of its kind in Australia, will offer proton therapy treatment for challenging solid tumours with the potential to reduce radiation‐induced side effects. With over 110 Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) centres globally, Australian patients currently can apply to access government funded treatment overseas, however, international travel for treatment presents various, significant challenges. Consumer engagement in healthcare plays a pivotal role in navigating the multifaceted journey of cancer treatment and can complement cancer control strategies by ensuring the practicalities of the cancer journey are realised. The ABCPTR aims to involve consumers in decision‐making processes, especially as it prepares to open Australia's first national proton therapy centre. The aim of this commentary is to highlight the importance of involving consumers in cancer care, and to demonstrate how this was done in Australia's first proton therapy centre. To establish a consumer engagement team, ABCPTR utilised existing clinical staff. The team's formation and upskilling were integral to the project's success. The engagement framework was developed based on the five stages of commitment by the Australian Health Research Alliance and Western Australian Health Translation Network. The ABCPTR consumer engagement team successfully created a community engagement framework and upskilled in consumer engagement principles over 9–12 months. An Expression of Interest (EOI) was launched, resulting in the formation of the BCAG comprising of 10 members with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The BCAG has been actively involved in decision‐making processes, with a consumer‐led chair and co‐chair in place. The group's feedback is expected to influence key performance indicators for the centre. The establishment of the BCAG at the ABCPTR emphasises the importance of integrating patient and community perspectives into clinical initiatives. This proactive approach ensures that processes remain patient‐centred. The ongoing multi‐level consumer engagement strategy aims to shape a more inclusive approach to cancer care in Australia, especially concerning PBT.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing a consumer advisory group at the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research

Penfold,

Gorayski,

Green

et al. 2023

J of Medical Radiation Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A study by Johnson explored the community's and consumer participation in Australia in healthcare services. 14 Although this study focussed on consumers' input into health services, some of the findings are relevant to priority setting at the hospital level. Johnson showed that hospitals did not have strategies to involve consumer participation and lacked coordination of, and planning for, consumer and community feedback and participation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Setting priorities for high-cost medications in public hospitals in Australia: should the public be involved?

Gallego

Taylor²,

Brien

2011

Aust. Health Review

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Aim. To explore healthcare decision makers' perceptions about public involvement in setting priorities for high-cost medications (HCMs) in public hospitals in Australia.Methods. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 decision-makers (executive directors of hospitals, area health service managers, directors of hospital pharmacy departments and senior medical doctors) in a Sydney Area Health Service. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, thematically content analysed and coded.Results. The majority of participants perceived that the 'rationing debate' needs to happen in Australia. The community at large should be encouraged to understand that healthcare resources are limited and choices need to be made. The perspectives of the public, according to participants, were considered diverse (tax payers, patients, consumers). Owing to the complexities of the healthcare system, their involvement of the public in decision-making regarding access to HCMs in public hospitals was considered limited. For participants, the role of the public was likely to be at the macro level, deciding how much they were prepared to spend on healthcare.Conclusion. The role of the public in setting priorities for HCMs in public hospitals was perceived by these healthcare decision makers as limited. However since rationing is unavoidable, there should be an explicit debate about the principles and issues concerned.What is known about the topic? Recognition of the importance of engaging the public in healthcare decision making is increasing. However, there is only limited understanding of the role of citizens in current priority setting mechanisms for allocating scarce resources to high-cost technologies such as medications at the public hospital level. What does this paper add? This study describes how involving the public in setting priorities for HCMs can present specific challenges from the perspective of decision makers working in the public hospital system. What are the implications for practitioners? In a time when public awareness is increasing about medical advances the challenge is to find ways of informing and involving the public in the debate about the distribution of healthcare resources. The results from this study will be useful for policy makers working on ways to improve the legitimacy of decisions at the institutional level.

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Coproduction in Practice: Participatory Action Research to Develop a Model of Community Aged Care

Ottmann

Laragy

Allen

et al. 2011

Syst Pract Action Res

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Coproduction has become synonymous with innovative approaches to public service delivery in European Union countries as well as in Australia. Coproduction has the potential to bring together individuals, communities, and organisations in a process to collaboratively develop new models and services which improve public services. Yet, Australian policy makers and practitioners who would like to deploy coproduction within the context of older adult social care can only draw on a handful of papers and reports that could guide implementation. This paper fills this gap by reporting on the implementation of a multi-stakeholder coproduction approach to the development of a consumer directed care model for older people with complex health issues. The paper describes and critically highlights methodological challenges encountered during the 12 month-long participatory action research phase of a larger project involving older people with complex care needs, their carers, and government and non-government stakeholders. The paper outlines key considerations regarding (1) the involvement of older people with complex needs, (2) collaboration with industry partners, (3) engagement of government representatives, and (4) reflects on implementing participatory research projects within a context of outsourcing and interlinked supply chains. While not all challenges encountered could be resolved, the coproduction approach was successful in bringing together a wide range of stakeholders with competing agendas in an iterative process geared to resolve a plethora of concerns raised by older people, carers and services providers. This paper provides an example for others seeking to use coproduction and participatory methods to provide person-centred care services for older people.

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Community and consumer participation in Australian health services

Cited by 13 publications

References 1 publication

Establishing a consumer advisory group at the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research

Establishing a consumer advisory group at the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research

Setting priorities for high-cost medications in public hospitals in Australia: should the public be involved?

Coproduction in Practice: Participatory Action Research to Develop a Model of Community Aged Care

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