Purpose

To encourage greater involvement by consumers of health and disability services in the activities of NZGG and ensure a consumer-centred approach to the development and implementation of NZGG’s Guidelines.

To enhance the ability of consumers to participate in decision making about their own health care, through the provision of consumer-orientated, evidence-based information.

Policy Statement

The World Health Organization (1978) states; 'The people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care.'

To this end organisations involved in the planning and provision of health care are obliged to put in place systems and processes that encourage and enhance consumer participation in their activities.

Consumer participation in health care can be seen to occur on two distinct levels;

1. The contribution of individuals to their own health care
2. The contribution of individuals and groups to the development, planning and provision of health services to the wider community.

NZGG’s commitment to encouraging greater consumer participation spans both of these dimensions.

On an individual level, NZGG is committed to facilitating consumer participation in decisions about their health care through making evidence available to consumers that is relevant to their needs and in a form that is easily accessible and understood.

On a collective basis, NZGG is committed to a consumer-centred approach to the development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines, in which consumers and consumer groups play an active and equal role.

To achieve this NZGG will be proactive in initiating efforts to ensure consumers are actively engaged in all NZGG activities. To this end NZGG will:

• make sure at least one consumer is on the Governing Board of NZGG
• have at least two consumer representatives on all NZGG guideline and evidence-based working groups
• review and adapt relevant NZGG processes and structures to ensure they support and encourage consumer involvement, and facilitate a consumer-centred approach
• actively seek comment from consumer groups as part of NZGG’s consultation process
• develop specific competencies in the design and development of information appropriate to the needs of consumers, including the use of 'plain language' for all consumer-orientated documents and where possible the use of formats that are accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired
• develop templates and processes (including consultation and pre-testing) for the preparation of evidence-based consumer information
• seek specific funding for the publication of consumer resources for each new guideline, or other evidence-based information produced.
• identify ways to support consumer initiatives that will better enable consumers to participate in evidence-based activities, including training and mentoring
• value the contribution and involvement of consumers equally with those of researchers and practitioners
• identify opportunities for collaborative arrangements to maximise consumer participation and strengthen the consumer voice in ways that optimise and make best use of consumer perspectives
• work with sector agencies to establish a national support organisation for consumer led entities 
• work collaboratively with other organisations to develop strong partnerships of government and non-government organisations, and agencies supportive of initiatives to strengthen the consumers’ voice.