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Health Consumers Queensland’s Issues Papers ease the burden for consumers

Jessica Bean is an experienced health consumer and a member of both our state-wide network  and COVID-19 Community of Interest group.

Last week we heard her share her thoughts during a focus group with Health and Wellbeing Queensland on the best ways to engage with consumers and she spoke about the importance of our Issues Papers for consumers as an example of best practice.

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A COVID-19 vaccine: Health consumers’ views

Although a vaccine for COVID-19 is not yet available, it’s high on the news agenda this week and keenly anticipated.

According to peer-reviewed research published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal, we need up to 80% vaccination to ensure herd immunity.  Yet the results of an Australian study in April showed that 14% of Australian adults would reject or were unsure about having a COVID vaccine. It’s also likely that some people will be ineligible for the vaccine for medical reasons.

This week Health Consumers Queensland asked health consumers from its COVID-19 Community of Interest:

  • How could the population be encouraged to be vaccinated?
  • What would you need to know before deciding whether or not to get a vaccination?
  • What would motivate or stop you from getting one?

Read the full issues paper here >

A COVID-19 vaccine: What would help you decide?

A vaccine for COVID-19 remains keenly anticipated by many Australians as a way of releasing us from ongoing restrictions and protecting us from infection outbreaks.
According to peer-reviewed research published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal, a vaccination rate of 80% is needed to ensure herd immunity to COVID-19.  A motivated population is clearly vital to an immunisation programme’s success, yet the scale, urgency and unknowns of such a programme are causing concern to some health consumers as they consider choosing to have a vaccine if and when one becomes available.

Consumer engagement in Victoria and NSW: Lessons learned during COVID-19

Here in Queensland, Health Consumers Queensland is uniquely positioned to amplify the consumer voice. We are fortunate to work with a Government, health department and health services that welcome consumer engagement and values the consumer voice.  Importantly, this commitment is matched by action, not just lip service, with consumer/HCQ participation facilitated at almost every level of decision making in health, and our organization being funded to pivot our work to support the response to COVID-19.

We invited the CEOs of our equivalent state health consumer peaks, Danny Vadasz, CEO of Health Issues Centre in Victoria and Anthony Brown from Health Consumers NSW to join a conversation with our CEO Melissa Fox, to share their perspectives on their Government and Health Departments’ engagement with consumers during COVID-19 at our regular Consumer Conversation session on Monday, 10 August 2020.

The views shared by Danny and Anthony made for “a sobering session” and prompted key questions around:

  1. Valuing consumer engagement at every level.
  2. Recognising that a consumer’s lived experience IS data.
  3.  How to be responsive to communities.

> Read the issues paper here.

Consumer engagement in Victoria and NSW during COVID-19: Lessons learned

Here in Queensland, Health Consumers Queensland is uniquely positioned to amplify the consumer voice. We are fortunate to work with a Government, health department and health services that welcome consumer engagement and values the consumer voice.  Importantly, this commitment is matched by action, not just lip service, with consumer/HCQ participation facilitated at almost every level of decision making in health, and our organization being funded to pivot our work to support the response to COVID-19.
While this engagement and action has by no means been perfect and in every part of the system, it has been this openness by those in the health system to listen to consumers and act, which has set our State’s response apart from the majority of the rest we heard at this week’s Consumer Conversation.

Encouraging COVID-19 testing throughout Queensland

Testing remains one of Queensland’s best defences against a sustained outbreak of COVID19.   A Consumer Conversation on Tuesday 28 July 2020 focused on the top barriers to testing, how the process can be made easier and what the key messages are that would motivate people to get a COVID-19 test. 

Fear, uncertainty, confusion, mis-interpretation of information and complacency are currently the over-arching barriers to testing across the state.  Consumers are looking for a clear and unambiguous testing pathway which is convenient, supportive, nuanced and needs-focused.

Read the issues paper

eAlert: Communicating effectively with residents and families

Following the lockdown of residential aged care facilities across South Brisbane and in the Moreton Bay region last week, Health Consumers Queensland and a consortium of six NGOs (including COTA Queensland, Queenslanders with Disability Network, ADA Australia, Palliative Care Queensland and CarersQLD) co-designed a single checklist and provided a series of resources to enable residential care facilities to communicate effectively with residents and families during an outbreak.

As part of this work, Jo Smethurst facilitated a training session to help facility managers understand the importance of communicating well when/if COVID-19 impacts their facility, and develop a comprehensive communications plan to enable them to be responsive to the individual needs of residents and families. This training session was part of a week-long training series led by the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer in Queensland Health.

Continue reading eAlert >

eAlert: Addressing the barriers to COVID-19 testing

Queensland’s best defences against a sustained outbreak of COVID-19 via community transmission are quarantine, border controls, testing and contact tracing.

Ahead of reports of new cases of COVID-19 in Brisbane this week, 21 consumers had already joined forces with Department and health staff, Queenslanders with Disability Network and Palliative Care Queensland at a Consumer Conversation on Tuesday to share their views on the top barriers to testing and what can be done to address these and encourage more people to get tested.

During the conversation, it was clear that consumers are looking for a clear and unambiguous testing pathway which is convenient, supportive, nuanced and needs-focused. Yet fear, uncertainty, confusion, misinterpretation and complacency are rife.

Specifically, consumers identified the following ongoing barriers to testing:

  • Difficulty interpreting advice about symptoms
  • Unclear testing pathways
  • The logistics of having a test and managing the consequences are too complicated and overwhelming
  • The need to self-isolate (for several days in rural areas) while awaiting results
  • Pain and trauma associated with testing
  • Perceived lack of social responsibility amongst certain groups of people
  • Fear of stigma and retribution if people do test positive

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eAlert: New grant funding underpins our consumer-focused COVID initiatives

New grant funding underpins our consumer-focused COVID-19 initiatives​

Health Consumers Queensland has been successful in securing grant funding from Queensland Health to support our continued COVID-19 service provision. As one of more than 130 community-based health service groups across Queensland sharing in more than $30 million, the grant will help Health Consumers Queensland to continue the delivery of a number of consumer-focused initiatives.

This additional funding will support:

  • continued consultation with consumers on planning for continued and future pandemic situations
  • a new project to engage with young health consumers about their experiences during COVID-19 pandemic (check out the
  • opportunity to join our Youth Reference Group in this eAlert​)
  • evaluation of the strong engagement approach taken by Health Consumers Queensland and Queensland Health during COVID-19.

We are so pleased to be able to continue to support the vital voice of consumers during this time.​

Continue reading eAlert >

Consumer experiences of health services as COVID-19 restrictions ease

In late April 2020, Health Consumers Queensland asked consumers about their experiences of healthcare during the very first easing of the COVID-19 lockdown. Procedures that had been delayed or cancelled were restarting, but consumers shared that they were unsure about accessing care safely. Many reported feeling uncertain and confused about when, if and how they could have their healthcare needs met.

Ten weeks later in Queensland, restrictions have eased significantly and healthcare services are beginning to return to almost full operation. At the same time, parts of Victoria have gone back into lockdown and parts of NSW are seeing an increase in positive testing results, with community spread in both states. Against these opposing backgrounds, Health Consumers Queensland asked 28 consumers and consumers representatives from our COVID-19 Community of Interest, Health Consumers Queensland’s Consumer Advisory Group, the Health Consumers Collaborative of Queensland, Primary Health Networks and Statewide Clinical Networks steering committees about their current experiences of health care.
Consumers were asked:

  1. If you were waiting for treatment that was delayed due to the pandemic, have you received updates on when that treatment will be available to you?
  2. Who provided you with care during the pandemic?
  3. Are you getting the information now that you need to support you, such as information about how your health service is being kept COVID-19 safe, or alternative ways of receiving care?
  4. Every Hospital and Health Service is responsible for developing their own plan to re-open services. Have you been involved as a consumer rep in these plans for your local HHS?

Read the Issues Paper >

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