scholarly journals A review of community consultation in the development of a multi purpose service in rural and remote Australia

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Durey ◽  
Chris Lockhart

This paper examines the role of community consultation and participation in the process of establishing a Multi Purpose Service (MPS) program in two towns in Western Australia. Information was gathered through written documents and semistructured interviews with individuals who were integral to the process. Consumer involvement in health care is increasing, and while claims of being community driven underpinned the MPS program, our findings suggest otherwise. Conflicts of interest, a lack of representation, and misunderstandings about the meaning of community consultation were present throughout the process of implementation. Moreover, official reports either ignore or downplay these events. We conclude that more attention must be paid to the role of the community in the health reform agenda generally and the MPS program specifically.

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Aldrich ◽  
Gavin Mooney

This paper presents a number of issues surrounding the setting of agendas for health care reform. We argue the needfor increased community involvement, as well as the necessity to wrest health-care decision-making from health careprofessionals, or at least to ensure that such decision-making is informed by community values.We attempt to answer a few questions: who sets the health reform agenda and who should set it, how is the agendaset and why is this critical, when and where is the agenda set, and how should the agenda be set in the future?


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane M. Burns ◽  
Emma Birrell ◽  
Marie Bismark ◽  
Jane Pirkis ◽  
Tracey A. Davenport ◽  
...  

This paper describes the extent and nature of Internet use by young people, with specific reference to psychological distress and help-seeking behaviour. It draws on data from an Australian cross-sectional study of 1400 young people aged 16 to 25 years. Nearly all of these young people used the Internet, both as a source of trusted information and as a means of connecting with their peers and discussing problems. A new model of e-mental health care is introduced that is directly informed by these findings. The model creates a system of mental health service delivery spanning the spectrum from general health and wellbeing (including mental health) promotion and prevention to recovery. It is designed to promote health and wellbeing and to complement face-to-face services to enhance clinical care. The model has the potential to improve reach and access to quality mental health care for young people, so that they can receive the right care, at the right time, in the right way. What is known about the topic? One in four young Australians experience mental health disorders, and these often emerge in adolescence and young adulthood. Young people are also prominent users of technology and the Internet. Effective mental health reform must recognise the opportunities that technology affords and leverage this medium to provide services to improve outcomes for young people. What does this paper add? Information regarding the nature of young people’s Internet use is deficient. This paper presents the findings of a national survey of 1400 young Australians to support the case for the role of technology in Australian mental health reform. What are the implications for practitioners? The Internet provides a way to engage young people and provide access to mental health services and resources to reduce traditional barriers to help-seeking and care. eMental health reform can be improved by greater attention toward the role of technology and its benefits for mental health outcomes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Scott Blackwell ◽  
Kim Gibson ◽  
Shane Combs ◽  
Rowan Davidson ◽  
Carolyn Drummond ◽  
...  

PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS in Australia and internationally are faced with the need to implement significant reforms. These reforms are driven by the need to balance the delivery of best practice clinical care with rapidly spiralling cost pressures. With much of the agenda for reform driven by managerial, administrative and even political priorities, clinicians have often felt sidelined from the reform process. Indeed, there is some evidence that clinicians have had decreased enthusiasm for their work in recent years, coinciding with a greater role of nonmedical managers and more restrictions on resources.1 There is a wealth of experience and intelligence within the clinical workforce that can contribute to finding solutions to the many complex issues facing the health system.2 This experience and intelligence is expressed in advice on the clinician?s specific areas of expertise and often within their own environment. This may work against the clinician having an effective impact on the reform agenda at the macro level. In that context, the establishment of a Clinical Senate in Western Australia to inform the health reform process by debating major issues that impact across the system is innovative. The Clinical Senate requires that Senators adopt a broad view, set aside their particular clinical allegiances and debate the issues in the best interests of the community. The Clinical Senate is a forum that allows clinicians to influence statewide-level processes through formally recognised channels. This article examines the rationale, processes and operation of the Clinical Senate in WA as a mechanism for effective clinician input into health reform.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-197
Author(s):  
Zaida Rahaman ◽  
Dave Holmes ◽  
Larry Chartrand

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was exploring what the roles and challenges of health care providers working within Northern Canadian Aboriginal communities are and what resources can help support or impede their efforts in working toward addressing health inequities within these communities. Design: The qualitative research conducted was influenced by a postcolonial epistemology. The works of theorists Fanon on colonization and racial construction, Kristeva on semiotics and abjection, and Foucault on power/knowledge, governmentality, and biopower were used in providing a theoretical framework. Methods: Critical discourse analysis of 25 semistructured interviews with health care providers was used to gain a better understanding of their roles and challenges while working within Northern Canadian Aboriginal communities. Findings: Within this research study, three significant findings emerged from the data. First, the Aboriginal person’s identity was constructed in relation to the health care provider’s role of delivering essential health services. Second, health care providers were not treating the “ill” patient, but rather treating the patient for being “ill.” Third, health care providers were treating the Aboriginal person for being “Aboriginal” by separating the patient from his or her identity. The treatment involved reforming the Aboriginal patient from the condition of being “Aboriginal.”


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Tegwyn McManamny ◽  
Paul A. Jennings ◽  
Leanne Boyd ◽  
Jade Sheen ◽  
Judy A. Lowthian

Objective A growing body of research indicates that paramedics may have a greater role to play in health care service provision, beyond the traditional models of emergency health care. The aim of this study was to identify and synthesise the literature pertaining to the role of paramedic-initiated health education within Australia, with specific consideration of metropolitan, rural and remote contexts. Methods A literature review was undertaken using the Ovid Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE and Scopus databases. The search time frame was limited from January 2007 to November 2017. The search was performed using key paramedic search terms in combination with keywords such as health education, rural, metropolitan, remote and Australia. Reference lists from relevant papers were also reviewed. Results Fourteen articles met the inclusion criteria for synthesis. Health education in the Australian paramedic context relates largely to expanded-scope paramedics, health promotion and the role of paramedics as key members of local communities. There were no studies specifically related to the paramedic role in health education, although many papers referred to health education as one of many roles paramedics engage in today. Conclusion This review highlights a broadening of paramedicine’s traditional scope of practice, and an indication of how vital paramedics could be to local communities, particularly in rural and remote areas. An expanded role may help address health workforce sustainability problems in areas where health care provision is challenged by geographical constraints and low workforce numbers. What is known about the topic? A broadening of paramedicine’s traditional scope of practice has been linked to improvements in health workforce sustainability problems in areas where health care provision is challenged by geographical constraints and low workforce numbers, such as rural and remote Australia. Health education, as well as health promotion, primary health care and chronic disease management, have been proposed as potential activities that paramedics could be well placed to participate in, contributing to the health and well-being of local communities. What does this paper add? This paper identifies and synthesises literature focusing on paramedic-initiated health education in the Australian context, assessing the current health education role of paramedics in metropolitan, rural and remote areas. It provides an understanding of different geographical areas that may benefit from expanded-scope prehospital practice, indicating that the involvement of paramedics in health education in Australia is significantly determined by their geographical place of work, reflecting the influence of the availability of healthcare resources on individual communities. What are the implications for practitioners? Today’s paramedics fill broader roles than those encompassed within traditional models of prehospital care. Rural and remote communities facing increasing difficulty in obtaining health service provision appear to benefit strongly from the presence of expanded-scope paramedics trained in health promotion, primary injury prevention, chronic disease management and health education: this should be a consideration for medical and allied health practitioners in these areas. Australian paramedics are uniquely placed to ‘fill the gaps’ left by shortages of healthcare professionals in rural and remote areas of the country.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc-David Munk

AbstractAmerican Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies largely have been untouched by the dramatic health care reform efforts underway, although change seems imminent. Clarifying the role of the modern EMS system, and the yardsticks used to evaluate its performance, will be a challenge.This paper introduces the concept of value (or outcomes to cost ratio) in EMS, and offers value assessment as a means by which reform decisions can be framed. The best reform decisions are those that optimize both costs and outcomes. This includes: (1) attention to the patient experience; (2) disallowing the provision of unhelpful, harmful or disproven prehospital care; and (3) expanding patient dispositions beyond Emergency Departments. Costs of care will need to be tracked carefully and acknowledged. Value generation should serve as the goal of ongoing EMS reform efforts.Munk MD. Value generation and health reform in emergency medical services. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(2):1-4.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 461-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Johnson ◽  
Katrina Hutchison

Relationships between health care providers and industry can generate conflicts of interest with their attendant harms. However, the types of relationships that involve conflicts of interest have often been understood narrowly as material ones between individual clinicians and industry. In research we undertook with surgical teams, we found the role of industry representatives has become normalized in the context of surgical innovation. In this article, we report the findings of our study and unpack the features of both surgery and innovation which contribute to the scope and normalization of industry involvement. We argue that these relationships generate significant ethical challenges and conclude by commenting on how our conceptualization of the situation might inform change.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document