About the seminar
Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI), or the facilitated, active involvement of people with lived experience in the research process, is an important development which has the potential to improve community engagement and foster greater representation of diverse communities in research. CCI is promoted by governments and research funders. However its implementation is variable and sometimes ad hoc. Established frameworks can enable more transparency in the use of CCI, flattening hierarchies between researchers and community members, and assisting with accurate reporting of CCI methods.
This talk explores a case study in which novel CCI methods were used to consult with a community in which a stigmatised condition has impacted on health service engagement. The CCI process had a specific aim of consulting with people living with HIV, to inform the adaptation of an existing clinical trial for implementation in partnership with this population. The use of peer networks and independent facilitation has enabled a robust consultation process which has built trust and buy-in from the community organisations involved. The talk will conclude with reflections and learning from the process, considerations of challenges and resourcing, and implications for the use of CCI in other research studies.
About the presenter
Dr Craig Sinclair is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales. His key research interests include advance care planning and supported decision-making, particularly among older adults receiving aged care. He has previously led a multi-disciplinary project aimed at developing policy and practice in supported decision-making in the aged care sector, and was more recently a contributor to a report on supported decision-making for the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. He is currently leading an NHMRC funded clinical trial of reminiscence based life story work and advance care planning, among older and culturally diverse adults receiving home care services in Australia.