Grampians Health believes that healthcare consumers and the community should be involved in research efforts that aim to advance health knowledge and practice. Consumer and community involvement is a collaborative relationship between healthcare professionals, researchers, and local people and groups who may benefit from or have relevant insight into particular research projects.
Cancer Australia promotes consumer and community involvement as an evidence-based method to enhance research design, data collection methods, and the dissemination of findings, while strengthening the relationship between health services and their region. We want to help our researchers embed relevant cultural groups, community organisations, and local people into the design and conduct of their projects. To this end, we have compiled the training opportunities and resources for researchers listed below.
Training opportunities and resources
The CT:IQ Consumer Involvement & Engagement Toolkit is an online, interactive map comprising a step-by-step explanation of and procedure for imbedding consumers and the community into research design and conduct, and includes tips on writing in plain language, recruiting consumers, and reporting involvement.
Monash Partners has six self-paced online modules, providing information and strategies to conduct and embed consumer and community involvement in research and healthcare improvement projects:
https://vcccalliance.org.au/consumer-engagement/, developed by their Cancer Consumer Advisory Committee (CCAC)
The New South Wales Government Agency for Clinical Innovation offers a detailed guide for building co-design in healthcare at both individual and organisational levels.
A-CTEC, a reputable online training provider for healthcare researchers, offers specific training for co-design in cancer research. (Making an account and accessing the training is free, but you must be logged-in for the link to work.)
For examples of successful community and consumer engagement in healthcare research, please read the following three case studies supplied by Queensland’s Metro North Health.
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