Hughenden

Key stakeholders in the Hughenden community are working collaboratively and participating in the Integrated Health Care Planning for Health and Prosperity (place-based planning) project. The project aims to improve the responsiveness of health services to the health needs of communities in the North Queensland region. Resources and workshop information for project activities in Hughenden will be posted on this webpage.

Prioritised place-based plan - What are the actions?

Through the co-design process seven actions have been prioritised for implementation during the project. These are detailed on the flyer: Actions flyer

A key action was to collate and disseminate a Hughenden Health and Community Services Directory. Whilst we are working to potentially use the My Community Directory / Diary tool to automate this process, the following document has been compiled and can be read online or downloaded and printed.

Hughenden Health and Community Services Directory (4 Sept 2023)

Next steps: Evaluation of the co-design process

Whilst the team are implementing the action plan, we will also be soon starting to undertake an evaluation of the co-design process. Anyone who was involved in the workshops or interviews will be invited to participate in a brief interview for the evaluation. The aim is to gain everyone’s opinion on how well the place-based planning process worked and what could be done differently. We will be in touch with participants shortly to see if you would be interested in participating in this next part of the project. Participation is voluntary.

Co-design Process Summaries

The co-design process is now complete. A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in the project to date! A summary of each part of the co-design process is presented below.

Draft plan with resourcing and measures

The final plan that will be implemented within the project timeframe is available above. We are also working on a full report of the co-design process to document all issues and actions.

What is place-based planning?

Place-based planning takes ‘an holistic approach to health services planning’. It is informed by exploring multiple different types of data including demographic, socioeconomic, workforce, and health behaviours and status; and developing partnerships between local health service providers (public and private), community groups, local, state/regional and national governments and their relevant agencies to use this data, with the benefit of local knowledge, to develop and deliver health programs and services.” (Yeboah 2005)

It takes: “a locally grounded approach to generate locally relevant solutions.” (Panzera 2016)

References

Yeboah, D. A. (2005). A framework for place based health planning. Australian Health Review, 29(1), 30-36. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1071/AH050030

Panzera AJ, Murray R, Stewart R, Mills J, Beaton N, Larkins S. Regional health workforce planning through action research: lessons for commissioning health services from a case study in Far North Queensland. Aust J Prim Health. 2016;22(1):63-68. doi: 10.1071/PY15149. PMID: 27469053.

How will place-based planning happen in Hughenden?

The Hughenden Community Advisory Network (CAN) is the local reference group and members will provide advice and guide the project.

Four co-design workshops are planned (approx. 1.5 to 2 hours duration) involving community members, service providers, managers and other key stakeholders to identify issues and explore solutions. If you are unable to attend a workshop, a one-on-one meeting can be arranged with a project team member so you can share your views.

Everyone is welcome to participate in the workshops or through interviews. Participation is voluntary.

Following the co-design workshops an action plan will be developed and prioritised, feasible actions implemented. Evaluation will be undertaken in relation to the co-design process and also impacts and outcomes of the actions. A local Project Support Officer has been recruited to help coordinate activities, implement actions and undertake evaluation.

More Information

Place-based planning in Hughenden

Contacts

Local Project Support Officer - Mim Crase

[email protected]

JCU Contact - Deb Smith