RURAL & REMOTE PRIMARY &

PUBLIC HEALTH CARE

HS 2401

Week Ten Tutorial

Students Copy

Community Participation in Rural

and Remote Health Care

HS2401: Rural and Remote Primary and Public Health Care. Community Participation Tutorial
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TUTORIAL OUTLINE
Subject: HS2401: Rural and Remote Primary and Public Health Care
Topic: Community Participation in Rural and Remote Health Care
Tutorial objectives
At the end of this tutorial students will be able to:
1. Identify a range of strategies that will prepare and increase the confidence and skills of
health professionals to engage community members in consultation and participation.
Tutorial Activities
Background
One of the key principles of primary health care is community participation and this primary health
care approach has provided an opportunity for community members to become involved with the
planning and delivery of health care services which are best able to meet their needs. Community
participation and ownership is well recognised as being critical to the success and effectiveness of
program development and implementation. If you really want to achieve change then you must get
support, commitment and involvement of the community. Despite this, there is often very little
participation from or consultation with community members when it comes to planning health care
needs and services.
Often the very mention of community consultation gives health professionals a feeling of dread. This
might be because people have seen it fail dismally or seen it to be very superficial in the past or
because they find the whole concept threatening. However if consultation and participation is
understood and therefore undertaken correctly and appropriately, then it can be an extremely valuable
exercise. It is important for health professionals to be clear that participation does not mean taking
over management decisions of services; it means serious and valuable input by all groups into setting
priorities on which services and community can act.
Question One: Perhaps the first thing to really understand when we talk about community is
what do we mean by community. What do you think it means?

Question Two: Imagine that you have been asked to consult the community about proposed
changes to the allied health services in a community for example the Local Health and Hospital
Network and Medicare Local is rolling out broader PHC initiatives and as part of that there will
be a visiting allied health service. Or perhaps there is a new pharmacy that is to open up for
the first time in a community.
What process might you go through to consult the community and how would you identify
who you should talk to? Who do you think would be key people in a community?

______________________________________________________________________________________
Collegeof Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
James Cook University

HS2401: Rural and Remote Primary and Public Health Care. Community Participation Tutorial
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Question Three: You have decided to hold a public meeting. It is important that you undertake
a professional approach to this. What will you need to do and what skills will you need?

Question Four: What do you think are the benefits of consulting the community about new
services or changes in health care services?

Question Five: Why do you think that people find it difficult to be involved in decision making
about their health and the health of the health of their community?

Question Six: What strategies might you use to overcome some of these difficulties?

Activity Two
Students to work on oral presentations
Closing Comment: Consulting with communities can be both an enriching and challenging
experience. Its an important part of practising under a primary health care approach and regardless of
the discipline you are in, it is highly likely that you will need to undertake some form of consultation
at some point in your careers. Consulting in Indigenous communities brings new challenges and it is
important to work with local health care workers/Councils etc if you have to do this.

______________________________________________________________________________________
Collegeof Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
James Cook University

HS2401: Rural and Remote Primary and Public Health Care. Community Participation Tutorial
_______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________
Collegeof Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
James Cook University