|
Public and patient engagement |
|
Engaging
people in the work that you do, gaining their insights into how things could
work better, and their ideas on how to reach people within their communities
are all vital aspects of health and social service development. It is one of
the core competencies in World Class
Commissioning.
Options UK
has engaged with people from diverse communities, often where there have been
few existing means of reaching people. We often work with marginalised and
excluded groups, using participatory methods to understand barriers to access to
local services, and co-designing solutions.
We
understand how effective public and patient engagement can support effective commissioning, and how to
make these insights into practical solutions.
As part of a wider sexual
health needs assessment, Options UK was commissioned to undertake engagement
with key populations at higher risk of STIs, HIV and unintended pregnancy,
including those who defined as ‘hard to reach’. These groups included prisoners,
sex workers, young people of Nepalese
decent, people living with HIV, lesbian, gay and bisexual men and women, people
with learning disabilities, and Gypsies and travellers. The purpose of this
engagement was to understand the health needs of people in these groups and to
map their access to sexual health services. It was envisioned that this
in-depth understanding of health needs would meet informational requirements
for critical phases of the commissioning cycle. |
