14 Dec 2020
2020 will go down as the year when consumers in Queensland stood shoulder to shoulder with their public health system thanks to the efforts of so many committed and passionate consumers and dedicated consumer champions within Queensland Health.
So please forgive us if we shed quite a few happy tears during our final Consumer Conversation for the year on Wednesday. Fourteen consumers, Health Consumers Queensland team members and Dr Alex Markwell, Chair of the Queensland Clinical Senate and a tireless consumer champion who supported our bid to be around the table at the beginning of COVID-19 and has partnered meaningfully with us throughout this time, had much to celebrate.
Together we shared our perspectives on the incredible HCQ Covid-19 Community of Interest and reflected upon the impact that the conversations, consultations and discussions held during this extraordinary time in all our lives.
Continue reading eAlert >
10 Dec 2020
Clinical Excellence Queensland (CEQ) performs a stewardship role in relation to Queensland public Hospital in the Home (HITH) services. In recent years, while CEQ has collaborated with HITH services statewide to optimise the uptake of service delivery in Queensland, robust consumer engagement regarding HITH has not occurred.
In November 2020, Health Consumers Queensland undertook consultation with grassroots community via 15 kitchen table discussions. The outcomes of the consultation enable CEQ to explore current perceptions about HITH (awareness/knowledge) and consumer’s appetite for virtual care provision.
Read the full report >
10 Dec 2020
2020 will go down as the year when consumers in Queensland stood shoulder to shoulder with their public health system thanks to the efforts of so many committed and passionate consumers and dedicated consumer champions within Queensland Health.
So please forgive us if we shed quite a few happy tears during our final Consumer Conversation for the year on Wednesday. There was so much to celebrate by the fourteen consumers, Health Consumers Queensland team members and Dr Alex Markwell, Chair of the Queensland Clinical Senate and a tireless consumer champion who supported our bid to be around the table at the beginning of COVID-19 and has partnered meaningfully with us throughout this time.
Together we all shared our perspectives on the incredible Health Consumers Queensland Covid-19 Community of Interest and reflected upon the impact that the conversations, consultations and discussions held during this extraordinary time in all our lives.
The COVID-19 Community of Interest and our online Consumer Conversations were established almost overnight through existing Health Consumers Queensland networks to enable rapid, accessible and inclusive consumer consultation on unprecedented challenges for the health system..
Over 600 consumers and observers/speakers from Queensland Health have attended 24 Consumer conversations since the end of March. Based on what you told us about what was and wasn’t working in the public health system, you trusted us to put together 22 Issues Papers and we shared these across the Department and all the Hospitals and Health Services to inform the response to COVID-19. (more…)
1 Dec 2020
New findings following a study on consumer involvement in occupational therapy health-related research have revealed that comprehensive consumer-researcher partnerships may not be common-place in occupational therapy research in Australia.
The research team from Griffith University, QE11 and PA Hospitals included three academic researchers and two consumer co-researchers. One of the consumers, Elizabeth Miller, is a member of the HCQ Consumer Network, and the other is Bernadette Tanner. Together with the research team, they reviewed the current status of consumer engagement in occupational therapy health-related research which was published in the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal over the past 5 ½ years.
Of the 123 eligible papers, 48 included various types of consumer engagement, but only two involved consumers collaboratively, or in-depth, across all the research phases of preparation, execution and translation.
Four themes which demonstrate the key philosophies of enabling and empowering consumers and communities in research emerged from this scoping review –
- Parity is essential in research partnerships
- It’s important to know the ‘Who, What, When, How, and So What’ of consumer involvement
- Consumer engagement must be a two-way process – not a dead-end street, and
- We must meet the challenge of being diverse and inclusive
Consumer involvement in research is becoming an ethical, political and moral imperative, and this study verified that collaboration with two consumer co-researchers in finalising data analysis, interpreting results and reporting outcomes added a diverse and valuable perspective. It also highlighted the need for training and development of both health researchers and consumers in order to build capability to create meaningful partnerships.
Elizabeth said, “Taking part in this research process over the past year has been a rewarding, stretching and fulfilling experience, and I would strongly encourage other consumers to become engaged in research, if and when the opportunity arises. I’ve enjoyed the genuine co-learning that’s taken place, with our research team being committed to an authentic partnership. It was also exciting that our paper was accepted for publication.
Along with the learning we’ve had lots of fun and laughter together, and I’m now looking forward to the next exciting phase of our research … watch this space!”
Read the paper >
1 Dec 2020
The Consumers Health Forum of Australia has recognised Queensland’s lead on consumer engagement and influence in the health system’s COVID-19 response after publishing a leading article by Melissa Fox, CEO of Health Consumers Queensland in their latest eJournal.
In the article, Melissa shares the exceptional outcomes of the partnerships between consumers and the health system which grew in strength, trust and influence from a faltering start at a very challenging time.
The peak national consumer organisation said, ” A standout has been Health Consumers Queensland which, during COVID, has formed working links with the State’s Health Department to develop consumer-effective policies, promoting online engagement with consumers to alert government on a range of areas including delayed access to health care, advice on testing and face masks.
Continue reading eAlert >
