This research looks at what good public engagement looks like in health and care systems, and how it can be assessed. It focuses on integrated care systems (ICSs) and local authorities (LAs).
We commissioned Involve, a charity that helps people take part in public decisions, to carry out this research and write the summary below.
Why it matters
When health and care systems listen to the public, they better understand what people need. Good engagement helps improve services and builds trust. It also makes sure people’s views are used when decisions are made.
The Health and Care Act 2022 gave CQC a new role in assessing ICSs and LAs. As part of this, we must check how well they involve the public and whether they act on the feedback they receive.
This research is unique because it focuses on assessing system level engagement.
The approach used
The researchers used different ways to understand what good public engagement looks like: They:
- read existing reports to learn what works well
- spoke with professionals and people with lived experience
- checked their findings with a range of different people and groups.
Findings
The research found some common themes that show what good public engagement looks like in health and care systems.
Strategic engagement
People’s views should help shape big decisions.
Strong leadership
Good leaders make sure engagement happens at all levels.
Shared understanding
Everyone needs to understand what engagement means and how it should be done.
Right methods
Use the best ways to involve people, depending on the topic and audience.
Joined-up work
Different parts of the system should work together to avoid repeating the same engagement and to share what they learn.
Important topics
Engagement should focus on key areas like planning services, decision-making, and using lived experience.
Real impact
Engagement should not be a tick-box activity. It should lead to real changes and help build trust.
The research also looked at how to assess if public engagement is working well. The research found that the assessment process should look at how systems are set up and what processes they use. Evidence like meeting notes and reports can be used as evidence, as well as hearing from staff and people who were involved.
Principles of good engagement in health and social care systems
Using their experience to build on the research findings, Involve created 8 principles for good engagement in health and care systems.
These were tested and improved through workshops with different people. The 8 principles are:
- Strong leadership is key to making engagement part of how the system works.
- Clear purpose helps public input lead to real change.
- Engagement should shape planning and decision-making in the system.
- Choose the right methods based on the topic and who is involved.
- Reach the right people for each topic.
- Make it accessible, so everyone can take part.
- Learn and improve over time, using past experiences.
- Coordinate engagement across the system to avoid overlap and increase impact.