Sample Briefs

HOW JULIE WORKS: SAMPLE BRIEFS

The following briefs are samples of Julie’s approach to facilitating two panel discussions.

Health Consumer Forum

Format: Panel discussion

Title: Strategies for Genuine Participation: Two Case Studies

Facilitator: Julie McCrossin

Panel Members: Names and titles

Aims:

  1. Identify what makes genuine public participation in health decision-making possible.
  2. Focus on both individual and community-wide decisions.
  3. Discuss two real life case studies to keep the discussion practical and focussed on real-world systems and situations.
  4. Enjoy a lively interactive session with audience participation.

The Case Studies:

  1. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
    In July this year an expert committee convened by the Therapeutic Good Administration recommended the updating of product and consumer information relating to HRT after wide media coverage of new US research.

    The panel will discuss

    • what has happened since July to help ensure women and health professionals are able to make good decisions together about HRT;
    • what more needs to be done; and
    • who is primarily responsible for fostering well-informed and effective participation in health decision-making?
  2. Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.
    Similarly, what practical strategies are we taking to achieve the best possible decisions and results?

Panel trigger questions – for both case studies:

  1. Who is responsible for making sure the public and professionals are getting the information they need to inform good decision-making? For HRT? For prostate cancer? Please give brief specific examples of effective strategies. What more needs to be done? Please note: examples may relate to the NSW Health Department; community and consumer organizations; professional colleges; pharmaceutical companies etc etc.
  2. What are the key practical challenges we face in getting the right information to the right people at the right time? Please give specific examples to illustrate your point.
  3. Is information enough to ensure good participation or is more needed? Examples to illustrate?
  4. Which organizations have primary responsibility to ensure health professionals of all kinds are properly informed? Could they do more to involve and inform the public as well? Examples?
  5. What role do consumer and community organizations play in supporting informed public participation in decisions? Examples? Could they do more to involve and inform health professionals? Examples?
  6. What are the one or two critical factors that make genuine public participation possible? Examples?

Rural Allied Health Professionals

Format: Panel discussion

Title: Achieving the best results for patients, their families and ourselves

Facilitator: Julie McCrossin

Panel Members: Names and titles

Aims:

  1. Share practical ideas about how to meet the complex needs of patients and their families in rural and remote areas.
  2. Share examples of success.
  3. Clarify precisely what made these successes possible.
  4. Enjoy a lively, interactive session with lots of audience participation.

Panel trigger questions:

  1. Describe an example from your own experience of successfully overcoming big challenges to achieve a good result for a patient, or group of patients, and their families. Please specify the 2 or 3 key challenges and the 2 or 3 key strategies used to achieve good results despite these challenges.
  2. Why is it important to identify community networks and to build on them? Please give a specific example to illustrate precisely how community networks can be used to achieve better results for the patient and health team.
  3. How can health professionals in rural and remote areas maintain and develop their own skills and knowledge? Please give a specific example to illustrate how this can be successfully achieved.
  4. Is it possible to deliver a quality service in rural and remote areas despite all the challenges? Examples?
  5. What is the single most important thing you need to do to maintain your own well being? Is a decent quality of life for the health professional necessary to ensure a quality service for patients?