Community involvement in priority setting for Gippsland Primary Health Network, Victoria, Australia

Introduction: Gippsland Primary Health Network (PHN) works to improve health and wellbeing of people in the region by commissioning services and other projects. The work is informed by a Health Needs Assessment which includes priority setting as a necessary part as resources are never unlimited. A Health Needs Assessment method was designed to increase community involvement in priority setting to balance felt and expressed needs with needs identified based on data. The presentation will be of interest to anyone involved in population health planning. Community involvement Community involvement was incorporated throughout the Health Needs Assessment: Gippsland PHN Community Advisory Committee oRegular involvement at quarterly meetings oFive members provided advice between meetings An Expert Advisory Group for Priority Setting (the Advisory Group) with broad representation by a variety of key stakeholders, including four Community Advisory Committee members Community Workshops in local planning areas What we did: The priority setting included: Design a method based on a literature review and consultation with key stakeholders Health problems identified based on quantitative data, needs identified by community members and/or professional stakeholder intelligence Draft methods and a list of health problems were adjusted based on comments from the Advisory Group Health problems were assessed using a matrix by seven member of the Advisory Group Average overall scores were discussed and adjusted based on consensus Provisional priority areas were discussed in Community Workshops An internal Population Health Working Group added a final layer of decision making List of priorities shared with key stakeholders Evaluation of the priority setting exercise Five criteria were used in a scoring matrix with a ten-point scale and detailed definitions: Size and severity of issue, including mortality, prevalence, incidence and impact on health Community, consumer and carer reports of need Professional stakeholder reports of need ...