Top 5 Resources – December 4

Each day, hundreds of British Columbians access health care. Whether it’s routine visits or more complex medical care, there is never a shortage of need for high-quality health care. The relationship between providers and patients is unique and not without its challenges. To ensure continuous improvement, we need to understand each other and start new conversations that create partnerships. If you’re unsure of where to start, here are some resources when you want patients and health care teams to work together.

1. Engagement Readiness Checklist*
   Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care – USA
   As a health care team, you have identified the need for input from patients, families and caregivers. The next step is to check in with your team about their readiness to have patient partners involved in your work. This handy checklist is a great conversation starter with your team to ensure that you’ve addressed any concerns, offered educational resources and managed any expectations about patient engagement.

2. A Multidimensional Framework for Patient and Family Engagement in Health and Health Care Carmen, et al, 2013 – USA This framework identifies that the entire health care system benefits when everyone impacted works together. This framework defines patient and family engagement as, “Patients, families, their representatives, and health professionals working in active partnership at various levels across the health care system—direct care, organizational design, governance, and policymaking—to improve health and health care.” By working through this framework, both health care and patient partners can think about how this applies in practice with the hope of guiding further efforts.

3. How to Practice Person-Centred Care: A Conceptual Framework
   Santana, et al, 2013 – Canada
   A number of PVN opportunities refer to organizations wanting to be more patient- and/or person-centred. What does that mean? What are the practical steps to get there? A Canadian team of researchers has published their roadmap to guide these discussions with health care teams, where they highlight the need for person-centred care to have real, tangible outcomes.

4. IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation
   International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) 
   The core of an effective engagement is to know what decision your team is trying to make and to what level of influence patients, families and caregivers have on that decision. The IAP2 Spectrum encourages you to think out your ‘decision’ and refine the role of the patient partner. To be successful, matching your decision with the right tactic and role will give everyone involved a better experience and lead to identifying how patient partners have influenced the improvements you aim to make.

5. Where Can Organizations Start in Defining Their Approach to Public Participation?
   Auditor General of British Columbia, 2019 – Canada
   Organizations that value public participation typically set principles for their work. While they may vary from organization to organization, a common set of principles are found at the Auditor General of British Columbia. The examples listed can help to stimulate and encourage discussion about what’s important to you as an organization to guide your approach. As with the other resources, this can lead your team, or you as a patient partner, to determine what really matters to you.

We encourage you to continue using the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council’s “A Guide to Patient Engagement” in support of your readiness for engagement. *Adapted from Jeppson, E. & Thomas, J. Essential Allies: Families as Advisors (1994)