Sharing our consumer participation experience
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Presentation on ReGen's approach to promoting consumer participation within AOD treatment services. Delivered at the ACT Consumer Participation Forum (April 2013)
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Sharing our consumer participation experience
- 2. Sharing our consumer participation experience Matt Gleeson, Consumer Participation Working Group Co-ordinator ACT Consumer Participation Forum 2013
- 3. Acknowledgements Donna Ribton–Turner James Beckford Saunders Venetia Brissenden Brandon Jones Paul Aiken Shannon Bell Laurence Alvis UnitingCare ReGen Board
- 4. Overview 1. Development of Consumer Participation model and role 2. Practical strategies
- 6. Rationale • Human Rights • Improving treatment outcomes • Organisational & strategic drivers
- 7. What’s it all about? “The process of involving health consumers in decision making about health service planning, policy development, priority setting and quality in the delivery of health services.” Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care (1998) Consumer Focus Collaboration Canberra, Australia
- 10. Key Resources AIVL - Treatment Service Users Project Phases 1 and 2 http://bit.ly/ZANfKe APSU – Straight from the source: A practical guide to consumer participation in the Victorian AOD sector http://bit.ly/YNvQ1I
- 11. Level & Scope of Participation Consumers Service Users Clients Control Partnership Consultation Information Clarke and Brindle (2010)
- 12. Into the future… Structures Approach Consumer Participation Leadership Group All of organisation Consumer Participation Facilitator Capacity building Consumer Representatives Mentorship Evaluated & disseminated
- 13. Consumer Participation Facilitator Consumers Staff CP Leadership Group • Guidance • Mentoring • Support • Advocacy • Capacity Building • Guidance • Mentoring • Support • Capacity Building • Guidance • Advocacy
- 14. Some unexpected outcomes 1. Staff are seeking consumer experience 2. Staff are questioning workplace/sector culture
- 15. The practice of consumer participation in ATOD treatment agencies
- 17. Use technology to support participation
- 18. Address stigma
- 19. Report to all of your stakeholders
- 20. Position Paper Advocacy in Action Consumer Participation Position Paper & Supporting Evidence http://bit.ly/YWJTQf www.regen.org.au/advocacy
- 21. References Association of Participating Service Users (2010), Straight from the Source: A practical guide to consumer participation in the Victorian alcohol and other drug sector, Carnegie, Victoria Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (2008) Treatment Service Users Project: Final Report, Canberra, Australia Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (2011) Treatment Service Users Project: Phase Two Final Report, Canberra, Australia Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care (1998) Consumer Focus Collaboration Canberra, Australia
Editor's Notes
- ReGen has made a substantial commitment to engaging with our stakeholders as evidenced by a range of activities including our Advocacy in Action activities, partnered approaches and consultative approach to change management e.g. RebrandingAs a part of this commitment we formed a working group to examine how we engage consumers in participation activities across the organisation and how we could potentially enhance this capacity.2011 ReGen undertook an audit of Client Participation, Diversity & Family Inclusive Practice – found that we were already doing some positive things that supported consultation with consumers2012 – A working group formed within the organisation comprising of members of E&T , Clinical Directorate and Senior management to investigate how we could further enhance our consumer participation activities2013 – The Board announced the creation of a new position within the organisation tasked with implementing a model of consumer participation integrated within a treatment and education organisation
- Human Right: It has been well documented and agreed upon that consumer participation in the planning of health services is a basic human right. This has been identified both internationally and nationallyImproved treatment outcomes Strategic Drivers – Quality Assurance, Corresponding mental health positions, AOD reforms
- Or in other words…
- The idea of consumer participation is on the surface quite simple- enabling consumers to have a greater voice and more power in directing the organisations that provide treatment services. The working group’s exploration of the issue found that the more we explored the issue the more unanswered questions we unearthed. One issue that consistently recurred was the identification that a sustainable and meaningful commitment to consumer participation required strong foundations. (SUSTAINABILITY, TOKENISM)We needed to ensure that we had policies and procedures in place that adequately support consumers in the workplace and ensure that the conditions and purpose of consumer participation are clearly articulated and understood by both staff and consumer representatives.It’s a bit of a chicken and egg scenario… set up structures without consumer input or ask consumers to input about structures without any support for sustainability
- Level of ParticipationIn considering the level of participation APSU’s Clarke and Brindle (2010) identify four levels of participation/inclusiveness:Information: This is not consumer participation but it increases power, enables service users to make decisions about their own treatment and supports consumer participation.Consultation (Low level participation): Consumers are presented with a plan or directive designed by the service provider and invited to give feedback. Control lies firmly with service providers.Partnership (Medium level participation): Consumers and providers are joint decision makers.Control High (High level participation): All decisions are made by consumers and consumers have control of resources.In defining the scope of participation the working group has examined the work of Clarke and Brindle (2010) which asserts that there are a range of categories from which participants can be drawn as is outlined below:Consumers – Anybody that uses drugs and has the potential to be a service user or otherwise be potentially effected by our operations (e.g. Family members)Service Users – People engaged with AOD services but not limited to ReGen clientsClients – People who access (or who have previously accessed) ReGen’s services.
- The following practices are not an all inclusive range of consumer practices. Theses strategies a are simply meant as a starting point. The reality is that any meaningful consumer participation work that makes partners of consumers requires that agencies create conducive cultures, policies and resources
- 1. Meet consumers where they are atFind out which social networking services the consumers that use your service access. Build an organisational presence there and let consumers know both online and off2. Make your website a meeting placeOrganisational websites have the potential to be far more than an online brochure of the services that you offer. By including the capacity for visitors to the organisation’s website to post comments, rate pages and respond to polls and surveys, you are starting a dialogue with people who will potentially access your service.3. Work with othersIncluding links to consumer groups that provide advocacy and support for people who use drugs and/or access drug treatment services raises awareness amongst consumers about the potential for their involvement as an expert.4. Reward participationThere are lots of ways that you can reward people for contributing to your service, probably the simplest way is to respond to them quickly, letting them know that their idea or issue has been heard.5. Crowd sourceCrowd sourcing enables you to include consumers in the shaping of the direction of the service and the projects that it is undertaking. By crowd sourcing ideas for how a service pursues a project you are actively asking consumers to help steer the ship.6. Speak with, rather than talk atSo many organisation use social networks like Twitter and Facebook like an advertising bulletin, releasing a stream of posts spruiking upcoming events. The key word in the term Social Networks is ‘social’. To get the greatest benefit out of social networks organisations need to talk with consumers in these environments rather than speak at. Ask consumers a question. You’ll get more traffic in your social media channels and you will get a better idea of what consumers think of your organisation.7. Measure and ReviewBy this time you will have collected alot of ideas and feedback. So often this is where consumer participation stalls. Don’t just sit on this information. Review it. Work out what you can do with it. What changes can the organisation make in response to the data collected.8. Be transparentAlcohol and other drug agencies spend a lot of time reporting to funding bodies but nearly never report to our consumers. It is important that if we are asking consumers to participate in how we run our services, that we report our organisational response to identified issues and recommendations for improvement made by our consumers. This can take place in our response to direct posts made by consumers in our organisations social media channels. Even if the organisation intends to make no changes based upon the feedback provided, be transparent and let people know how this decision was reached, and what further actions, if any that will take place. Organisations may also want to consider a regular report made available to all consumers that catalogues feedback given over a preceding period and outlines responses to recommendations and opinions expressed online.
- Raise awareness about stigma and it’s effectsIdentify with them their personal experience of stigmaChallenge self stigmatising beliefs that reflect the stereotypes and prejudices that are so pervasive in our communitiesEnsure people accessing the service know their rights and how they can address infringements upon those rights. Useful information can include knowing where to go to complain about poor treatment or discrimination.