Evaluating community participation: a comparison of participatory approaches in the planning and implementation of new primary health-care services in northern Australia

Carlisle, Karen, Farmer, Jane, Taylor, Judy, Larkins, Sarah, and Evans, Rebecca (2018) Evaluating community participation: a comparison of participatory approaches in the planning and implementation of new primary health-care services in northern Australia. International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 33 (3). pp. 704-722.

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Abstract

Community participation is increasingly seen as a prerequisite for more acceptable and sustainable health services. It is difficult to evaluate the extent of participation in health planning and implementation of services, and there are limited tools available to assist in evaluating such processes. Our paper reports on community participation as part of the implementation of 2 primary health programs in regional north Queensland, Australia. We define community participation as collective involvement of people, including consultation, from a community of place or interest in aspects of health service development. We pragmatically evaluate and compare the extent of participation by using a framework developed by Rifkin and colleagues in 1988 and subsequently refined. Data collected from the implementation of each program were analyzed and ranked on a spidergram against 5 process indicators: needs assessment, leadership, resource mobilization, management, and organization. Community participation was found to vary across the programs but was most extensive in both programs in identifying need and potential solutions. Both programs demonstrated high levels of integration of the implementation of health programs with preexisting community structures. Involving local communities in genuine opportunities in managing the programs and mobilizing resources was more challenging. Key differences emerged in the people involved in the programs, the settings and frameworks used to facilitate implementation. We conclude that Rifkin's process indicators are a useful starting point for assessing community participation, particularly for health planners who are required to include participatory approaches when planning and implementing services. We suggest areas that require further consideration.

Item ID: 53405
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1099-1751
Keywords: community participation, primary health, service design, service implementation
Copyright Information: Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Funders: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Projects and Grants: NHMRC GNT1057362
Date Deposited: 24 Jun 2018 23:55
FoR Codes: 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420321 Rural and remote health services @ 100%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9205 Specific Population Health (excl. Indigenous Health) > 920506 Rural Health @ 50%
92 HEALTH > 9202 Health and Support Services > 920207 Health Policy Evaluation @ 50%
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