Kathy Mott

Essential service standards for equitable national cardiovascular care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) constitute the largest cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and remain the primary contributor to life expectancy differentials between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians. As such, CVD remains the most critical target for reducing the life expectancy gap. The Essential Service Standards for Equitable National Cardiovascular Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (ESSENCE) outline elements of care that are necessary to reduce disparity in access and outcomes for five critical cardiovascular conditions. The ESSENCE approach builds a foundation on which the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians can be reduced. The standards purposefully focus on the prevention and management of CVD extending across the continuum of risk and disease. Each of the agreed essential service standards are presented alongside the most critical targets for policy development and health system reform aimed at mitigating population disparity in CVD and related conditions.

Integrating consumer engagement in health and medical research – an Australian framework

BackgroundQuality practice of consumer engagement is still in its infancy in many sectors of medical research. The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) identified, early in its development, the opportunity to integrate evidence-driven consumer and community engagement into its operations.ProcessSAHMRI partnered with Health Consumers Alliance and consumers in evidence generation. A Partnership Steering Committee of researchers and consumers was formed for the project. An iterative mixed-method qualitative process was used to generate a framework for consumer engagement. This process included a literature review followed by semi-structured interviews with experts in consumer engagement and lead medical researchers, group discussions and a consensus workshop with the Partnership Steering Committee, facilitated by Health Consumer Alliance.OutcomesThe literature revealed a dearth of evidence about effective consumer engagement methodologies. Four organisational dimensions are reported to contribute to success, namely governance, infrastructure, capacity and advocacy. Key themes identified through the stakeholder interviews included sustained leadership, tangible benefits, engagement strategies should be varied, resourcing, a moral dimension, and challenges. The consensus workshop produced a framework and tangible strategies.ConclusionComprehensive examples of consumer participation in health and medical research are limited. There are few documented studies of what techniques are effective. This evidence-driven framework, developed in collaboration with consumers, is being integrated in a health and medical research institute with diverse programs of research. This framework is offered as a contribution to the evidence base around meaningful consumer engagement and as a template for other research institutions to utilise.

A Strategy for Translating Evidence Into Policy and Practice to Close the Gap - Developing Essential Service Standards for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cardiovascular Care

The development and application of essential standards for cardiovascular care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people creates a strategic platform on which to systematically close the gap in the health outcomes and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people in Australia. We outline six developmental stages that can be used to enhance the effective translation of evidence into practice that reduces life expectancy differentials. Focussing efforts where the biggest gain can be made; considering how to make a policy-relevant difference with an emphasis on translation into policy and practice; establishing a foundation for action by engaging with stakeholders throughout the process; developing a framework to guide action; drafting policy-relevant and framework-appropriate essential service standards; and defining standards that help policy decision makers achieve current priority policy targets.