Active participation of people with lived experience of inequality – Do we practice what we preach?

One of our statutory duties is: "Promoting and supporting the involvement of people in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of local care services."

Why? Because we know that if health and care services make decisions without involving those affected by them, the outcomes are likely to be less effective. And this is why local Healthwatch across England work so hard to make sure that local people play an active and influential part in decisions about care. 

But, do we practice what we preach by maintaining the same standards that we expect of others? Do we have a common understanding of what good participatory practice in Healthwatch looks like? And do we have examples of excellence that need to be more widely shared?

We've launched a new research project to help answer these questions and ensure we're doing all we can to involve communities who face inequality in making decisions about our work. 

Who is running the research?

We've commissioned Expert Citizen and Power With. Using a peer-led approach, they will map the current ways in which we make decisions with people who are affected by the issues we are hoping to influence. For example, to what extent do people with lived experience of an issue shape the questions we ask, how we engage communities and the recommendations we then make?  

What will be delivered?

Expert Citizens and Power With will:

• Work with a group of people affected by health inequality to develop a shared understanding of participatory approaches and a way to measure their efficacy.
• Develop case studies illustrating exemplary practices across local Healthwatch. 
• Hold two training sessions to present the project's findings and introduce participatory tools you can use.