About the Change Package
This Change Package is a guide for leaders and staff at organizations across the health care spectrum – hospitals, large medical practices, health clinics, health plans, accountable care organizations, and more – to aid in developing meaningful person-centered engagement structures at the organizational level. It is informed by our review of the ever-growing body of literature on consumer engagement. It incorporates lessons from the case studies developed in the first stage of the project and builds on the Project partners’ combined experience developing approaches for meaningful person-centered engagement and understanding of health organizations. Additionally, Project partners benefited from the wealth of experience and expertise of our Advisory Committee members.
The Change Package is also guided by a set of principles and approaches on patient and family engagement, developed by the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation
Transparency and Inclusivity
- Involving historically excluded communities, and striving for equity
- Communicating why, how, when, and in what ways participants will play a role and the scope of their decision-making
- Making all feel welcome
- Reducing barriers to participation
- Redistributing ownership of the process through co-design of priorities, policies and programs
Respect for Different Cultures
- Approaching collaboration with humility and patience
- Drawing on community and consumer knowledge, and valuing others’ ideas about their care
- Recognizing that communities are not monolithic, so you may need to repeat this process for multiple populations and neighborhoods
- Allowing for varied levels of community involvement
Investment of Resources
- Securing long-term commitment from institutional leadership
- Dedicating skilled staff, funding, time, and resources to this effort
- Empowering and strengthening participants by offering leadership development opportunities to residents and skill-building assistance to organizational partners
- Cultivating patience in all stakeholders
Addressing Power Imbalances
- Acknowledging power dynamics between your institution and community members
- Recognizing the impact of discrimination and structural racism and facing up to any harms caused by your institution’s past or present approaches to research, economic development, billing, and access to care
- Doing more listening, less directing
