1. Consumer Participation Framework1

2. MODULE ONE CONSUMER PARTICIPATION: WHAT IS IT? & WHY DO IT?
WORKSHOP AIMS
(i) To stimulate discussion and debate about what consumer participation is, and identify the benefits to consumers and service providers.
(ii) To develop a shared understanding of definitions and a set of guiding principles for Consumer Participation.
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3. WHO ARE CONSUMERS?
The term ‘consumer’ denotes both the individual and the collective interest. It refers to consumers, consumer groups and community groups. It distinguishes them from professionals and others providing services.
The term ‘consumer’ can also refer to
those currently using services
potential users of services
their carers, family and support people
those who need care, but who are poorly provided for by the health and community support system.
Consumers vary in their backgrounds and opinions. They are not a homogeneous group. There is no single consumer view, but probably as many views as there are consumers. What they share is the direct experience of the health and community service systems.
Consumer is also used to convey the broader rights of citizens in using or potentially using services
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4. WHAT IS CONSUMER PARTICIPATION?
The term ‘consumer participation’ is open to considerable interpretation. Consumer participation can be described as the process of involving consumers in decision making about their own health care, health and community services planning, policy development, setting priorities and addressing quality issues in the delivery of health and community support services.
The term ‘participation’ usually implies sharing, not only of information and opinion, but also of decision making power. Real participation means joint problem solving, joint decision making, joint responsibility.
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5. WHAT IS CONSUMER PARTICIPATION?
Consumer participation can occur across many levels within organisations/services:
§ participation in treatment and care
§ consumers employed by services as consultants and advocates
§ participation in service delivery and evaluation
§ participation in policy and planning
§ participation in education and training
§ participation in staff recruitment
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6. THE PARTICIPATION CONTINUUM
Participation is best thought of as a continuum with various stages.
At one end of the continuum, the relationship between the consumer and the service is service/organisation led and centres on the communication of information.
It then progresses through the consultation stage with its joint consideration of issues, to true partnership (which includes the sharing of decision making) and ultimately to consumer/community control.
Information Consultation Partnership Control
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7. THE LADDER OF PARTICIPATION
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8. What is the evidence supporting consumer participation in health?
Consumer Participation in Individual Care
Active consumer participation in decision-making in individual care leads to improvements in health outcomes
Access to quality information facilitates decision-making and supports an active role for consumers managing their own health
Consumer Participation in Health Services
Active consumer participation leads to more accessible and effective health services
Effective consumer participation in quality improvement and service development activities in health services is achieved through the adoption of a range of methods
Effective consumer participation uses methods that facilitate participation by those traditionally marginalised by mainstream health services
Consumer Participation in The Health System
Active involvement of consumers at all levels of the development, implementation and evaluation of health strategies and programs is integral to their success.
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9. What are the direct benefits to consumers &
service providers?
Research shows that consumer involvement is strongly associated with good outcomes for primary health services
It increases the level of satisfaction with services
It builds an environment where individuals are more likely to take responsibility for their own health
It helps make service planning decisions that reflect the needs and wishes of the community
It increases the sense of ownership of services
Direct participation is more efficient and effective as a means of providing understanding about local needs and issues than indirect or secondary sources
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10. What are the direct benefits to consumers &
service providers? (cont’d)
Consumer Participation improves service quality, particularly in regard to access and service responsiveness
It helps to market the service
It helps to attract people interested in working with and supporting services
It injects innovation and creativity into service planning and delivery
It increases the level of social capital in the community.
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11. WHERE CAN WE DIRECT OUR FUTURE EFFORTS?
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
WHERE CAN WE DIRECT OUR FUTURE EFFORTS?
WHAT COULD BE OUR NEXT STEP?
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12. MODULE TWO WHERE ARE WE NOW? - PLANNING FOR CONSUMER PARTICIPATION
WORKSHOP AIMS
(i) To provide participants with an opportunity to discuss their agency’s present conditions/experience with Consumer Participation
(ii) To undertake an Audit of strengths, gaps and limitations.
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13. PLANNING FOR CONSUMER PARTICIPATION
Planning for Consumer Participation is no different from planning for other activities.
Planning is a continuous, systematic and formalised method of determining:
Where we are now to
Where we want to go
How we are going to get there
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14. THE PROCESS
A key part of the planning process is to assess our organisation’s capacity for change, and in particular, attitudes to consumer participation that exist within the organisation.
Planning for participation can help with the implementation of appropriate strategies for our organisation’s circumstances and the consumers with whom we work.
This self assessment stage sets the foundation for our consumer participation plans.
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15. DECIDING ON AGREED PRIORITIES
Where could our organisation/service direct its future efforts?
What could be our next steps?
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16. AUDIT TOOLS Five Tools are included in the Kit to choose from:
1. Organisational Capacity Assessment - This Tool enables an organisation to audit its current consumer participation focus.
2. Consumer and Carer Organisational Checklist - This Tool provides a quick overview of the current achievements of the organisation with respect to the participation of consumers and carers in service delivery, planning and management.
3. Attributes of a Consumer Focused Service Checklist – This Tool is designed as a checklist for service providers who undertake consumer assessment/care planning activities, to determine how consumer focused the service is.
4. Primary Health Care Assessment Tool - This Tool is designed to assess levels of consumer and carer participation in health services in the primary care sector.
5. Community and Consumer Participation Audit Tool for Hospitals - This Tool was designed by the National Resource Centre for Consumer Participation in Health for hospital staff to gain an indication of the level of commitment to community and consumer participation in their hospitals.
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17. AUDIT OUTCOMES
The Audit findings can be analysed to determine where we are currently positioned with regard to commitment to and activity in consumer participation.
The results can be used to identify
strengths
gaps
limitations
We can then prioritise where our efforts need to be directed to review or develop a Consumer Participation Policy and our Action/Strategy Plan for consumer participation.
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18. MODULE THREE WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO? DIRECTION SETTING
WORKSHOP AIMS
(i) To provide participants with an overview of why developing a Policy and Action Plan for Consumer Participation is an essential criterion for demonstrating a commitment to and having a direction for Consumer Participation.
(ii) To provide a forum for participants to identify any challenges/barriers to developing a Policy and Action Plan and to jointly develop some strategies to address them.
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19. THE BENEFITS OF A CONSUMER PARTICIPATION POLICY
Ø It ensures processes and strategies are put in place that make consumer participation happen, rather than just talked about.
Ø The process of documenting a policy is educative for Boards of Management/Councillors/Managers/Staff and Consumers
Ø It provides an easy point of reference for inquiries from community members/consumers about becoming involved with our agency/service.
Ø It provides an organisational context to support greater consumer participation and guide the development of multiple strategies across the organisation to increase the capacity as well as to foster consumer involvement.
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20. What could a community/consumer participation policy contain?
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21. Examples of principles that could be used in a policy include:
All people have the right to participate in debate and decision making about decisions that affect their daily lives and about their own care
Community/consumer participation processes and strategies are part of the core business of our service, not optional extras
The community is diverse, so our service is committed to policies and processes that are inclusive and that recognize and value difference
Our organisation seeks to know and understand our community by building and maintaining comprehensive knowledge about the local community
Our service actively seeks consumer and community views to inform planning and decision making about services
Information is essential to participation, so our service provides accessible information to our communities about processes and services
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22. An Action/Strategy Plan
A Consumer Participation Action/Strategy Plan should encompass:
p Our goals/vision for consumer participation
p Our objectives
p A description of the issues/gaps we are addressing (as determined by the work we have done in assessing our present experience and conducting an Audit (Refer to Module 2)
p The Actions (steps) we will be undertaking to address the issues/gaps
p Strategies/Techniques we have chosen (Refer to Module 4: Selecting Appropriate Strategies)
p Timelines for completion of each Action
p Budget and personnel required
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23. MODULE FOUR HOW WILL WE GET THERE? - STRATEGIES & TECHNIQUES
WORKSHOP AIMS
(i) To explore the different roles/responsibilities for different levels and staff within the organisation for implementing the organisation’s Consumer Participation Policy.
(ii) To explore the vast array of strategies available and discuss the most appropriate methods for particular situations.
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24. IMPLEMENTING THE POLICY/VISION
- Different Roles for Different Levels/Staff -
Governing Body: Provides leadership by establishing the mission, strategic objectives, goals and policy parameters
Managers: Responsible for resource utilisation and staff resources to implement the policy/vision for Consumer Participation
Staff: Facilitate the processes for participation
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25. DIFFERENT APPROACHES
There is a vast array of approaches/processes to consumer participation
Importantly there is no ‘best way’ - only principles and practice
Each organisation requires its own tailor made solutions/strategy plan
The level to which we want to engage consumers (as set out in our Policy and Action Plan) will determine the methods used for participation
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26. MODULE FIVE HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN WE GET THERE
MODULE FIVE HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN WE GET THERE? - MONITORING & EVALUATION
WORKSHOP AIMS
(i) To provide participants with an opportunity to discuss their agency’s experience with evaluation of its consumer participation activities.
(ii) To explore evaluation approaches and the development of an agreed strategy for further evaluation efforts/activities
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27. WHAT IS EVALUATION?
Ø Evaluation of consumer participation is a cyclical process.
Ø It starts at the point that we decide as an organisation to plan our involvement in supporting participation.
Ø It involves making judgments about the worth and appropriateness of our strategies for participation and reaching conclusions that will inform future practice and planning.
Ø Indicators need to be determined during the planning phase and success can be measured against these indicators in the monitoring and evaluation phase.
Ø Evaluation involves a process of reflection on what worked and what did not work and using this information in order to make improvements for the future.
Ø Evaluation also enables us to account for the resources committed to participation and establish the case for future resource allocation.
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28. EVALUATIVE QUESTIONS
Ideally, evaluative questions should be asked along the way so that we are identifying and addressing issues as we go.
How can we tell if the processes used are working?
If we are clear about the purpose for seeking consumer input and who we are trying to involve, then evaluation questions become much clearer.
How have consumers become involved?
What do consumers say about their experience of being involved?
What have we learnt so far and what needs to be changed to improve our Participation processes?
What changes have been implemented as a result of consumer participation and consumer-staff collaboration?
Have the changes consumers would like to see been implemented?
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29. TWO APPROACHES TO EVALUATION
OPEN INQUIRY
&
AUDIT REVIEW
These two approaches are not mutually exclusive and the limitation of each can be mediated to an extent by adopting some of the elements of the other approach.
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