Margaret Brown
This paper points out that consumer representation and participation is an exercise of democratic rights. This is strongly demonstrated by the consumer representation and participation in health. It examines that areas and motivators for consumer involvement and the level of success of strategies to involve consumers as well as the strategies used by consumers to become involved. Finally, the paper argues that consumer representation through member organisations is a viable, reliable and a results oriented strategy that deserves the subscriptions of it members and ongoing funding from Governments.
Consumers are an integral part of the health care team. While the health care team may see consumers as the patients, clients or consumer - consumers are recognized as having a role in policy formulation, service development and delivery. Divisions of general practice, local state and commonwealth health boards and policy makers actively seek to engage the consumer at least to some extent in their ongoing work. In fact, these organisations are becoming accountable to the consumers they serve. Consumers are moving from the point of token participation and representation to active participators in the planning, implementation and evaluation of health service delivery. Even if, for the most part, consumers are willing but passive stakeholders in this broad partnership, consumers and consumer organisation are stepping up to this increased level of responsibility.
Motivators for consumer involvement and participation are changing. Historically, consumer representatives who have been active over time have often been female, usually busy in the so-called private domain and have had their motivation sparked by personal circumstances. Contemporary consumer representation is still more likely to be female but the representation is more likely to sparked by different motivators. Access and equity of health care, representation of particular illness support groups, representation of minority groups and the presence of better informed consumer are also motivators for representative participation.
Strategies including advertising or calling for consumer representatives have mixed success. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people nominated for representational participation are more likely to respond to the challenge. The call is sent it a body of at least interested potential representatives rather than simply placed in the public domain. HCRRA's experience reflects this outcome.