Partnering with patients, carers and the public (also known as consumers) is key in driving effective and impactful healthcare change that is relevant to those using the services. As end-users or people who are affected by the condition, their lived experience ensures real-world application, relevance, translation and impact of your work. Through our research, we acknowledge that there are differences in barriers and facilitators to enable effective partnerships with consumers in healthcare improvement compared to research. Future research will aim to produce and provide tailored information and resources to support healthcare professionals working on healthcare improvement projects.
Consumers provide a different perspective in the design and delivery of quality improvement projects to ensure that the outcomes are relevant to the community. To ensure genuine and meaningful partnership with consumers, many guidelines and statements exist that emphasise different but similar values and principles that underpin consumer and community involvement. Please see additional resources that highlight the values and principles that underpin good practice in consumer and community involvement.
There is no one way or right way to partner with consumers. It is important to find an approach that works for your project and community. Check out examples and additional details of different approaches to consumer and community involvement below.
Read about real world success stories of working with consumers across different areas below.
Looking for consumers to help develop your idea or contribute to your project? Stuck on a certain aspect of consumer and community involvement? Share your ideas, experiences and learn from others on our Health Research Hub Discussion Forum on LinkedIn.