community engagement framework - mount sinai hospital€¦ · a community engagement framework...

A Guide to Effective Partnership Building

Community Engagement Framework

Table Of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Framework for Community Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What do We Mean by Community Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Who will be Involved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Values of Community Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Guiding Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Our Approach

i . Identification of Community Engagement Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ii . Selection of Community Engagement Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

iii . Development of Community Engagement Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

iv . Implementation of Community Engagement Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

v . Monitoring & Evaluation of Community Engagement Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Appendicies

Appendix A: Tools and Techniques for Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Appendix B: Mount Sinai Community Engagement Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Appendix C: Reference List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 3Community Engagement Framework: A Guide to Effective Partnership BuildingCommunity Engagement Framework: A Guide to Effective Partnership Building

IntroductionFramework for Community Engagement

Mount Sinai Hospital was initially established in 1923 . From the time its doors opened, the Hospital has worked collaboratively with external community partners to deliver high-quality health-care services to improve the health outcomes of our patients and their families . The main focus of the Hospital was to give back to the wider community by providing care for everyone . We continue to support our commitment by putting patients first . This original mandate is reflected in the mission that Mount Sinai Hospital adheres to today .

As one of Canada’s pre-eminent patient care, research and academic health science centres, Mount Sinai Hospital has a well-earned reputation for excellence in the community and also beyond our borders .

In support of enhancing the experiences of our patients, the CEO and Senior Leadership Team at Mount Sinai Hospital recognize the importance of engaging with the communities that we serve in order to more effectively meet their needs and improve their health outcomes . A Community Engagement Framework defines the means by which Mount Sinai Hospital will obtain input from the communities we serve . This will allow us to facilitate a more integrated response to better meet the needs of patients and their families . In addition to providing a mechanism for vital input towards the development of the strategic directions for the Hospital .

Mount Sinai Hospital is committed to the development of a comprehensive approach to community engagement that will keep us connected to our patients and encourage their involvement in the delivery of our services .

“Dedicated to discovering and delivering the best patient care, research and education with the heart and values true to our heritage.”

Mount Sinai Hospital Mission

Mount Sinai Hospital’s Community Engagement Framework outlines our goals and guiding principles for community engagement . It provides a recommended approach for ongoing consultation and dialogue with our communities and partner agencies to ensure active participation in the planning, implementation and evaluation of our programs and services . A variety of community engagement approaches will be used to engage our key external stakeholders . This Community Engagement Framework is viewed as a “living document” which will evolve and change over time . We encourage input from members of the communities we serve and our partners to help us to further refine it .

At Mount Sinai Hospital, our understanding of Community Engagement is a communication process for working collaboratively with the communities that we serve and our partner organizations to address the health issues that affect our patients . Our definition of community is broad and not only includes individuals that reside in a specific geographical area; it also includes groups of individuals from a shared demographic group or identity, for example new immigrants, and groups who have a common interest and advocacy groups, for example psychiatric consumer survivors .

Some examples of the community groups we serve at Mount Sinai Hospital are as follows:

• Youth• Seniors• Francophone population• Aboriginal people• People with disabilities• New immigrants and refugees• Diverse ethno-racial communities• People who are homeless/under-housed• People living with mental health issues

and/or addictions• People who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual,

transgendered, two-spirited, queer, questioning and intersexed (LGBTTTQQI)

Ongoing communication and dialogue with the communities we serve and our partners will allow for greater transparency, facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange, and support the identification of shared values, and programs that achieve our goals .

What do We Mean by Community Engagement

Community Engagement Framework: A Guide to Effective Partnership BuildingCommunity Engagement Framework: A Guide to Effective Partnership Building 54

Who will be Involved

Values of Community Engagement

Mount Sinai Hospital provides services to a broad spectrum of community groups and collaborates with a wide range of partner agencies and service provider organizations to effectively deliver our programs and services . Mount Sinai Hospital is a large hospital and academic teaching and research facility . This means that community engagement approaches will be used by various departments and across health-care providers and disciplines to solicit input from our external stakeholders to enhance our patient- and family-centred services . Our external stakeholders will include:

• Patients and their families• Members of the public and residents of the

Greater Toronto and surrounding areas • Partner organizations and health and social service

provider organizations (e .g ., Community Heath Centres, Community Care Access Centres, Long-Term Care facilities, clinics or private physicians, public health, government departments)

• Community-based non-profit organizations and groups (e .g ., patient support groups, churches and other faith-based organizations, issue advocacy groups or coalitions, residents or ratepayers associations, trade unions)

• Schools and post-secondary institutions• Private sector organizations

Mount Sinai Hospital is committed to enhancing the experience of our patients by providing patient- and family-centred care . With this in mind, we have established values that support community engagement and align with our comprehensive Community Partnership Strategy (CPS) . These partnership values are as follows:

• Embrace community development principles and practices

• Support enhanced community engagement• Demonstrate community responsiveness• Promote strategies that address the social

determinants of health• Embrace health promotion and prevention models

of service delivery

Our values support the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network’s (TCLHIN) process for community engagement . We embrace our shared responsibility to work with our community members and partner organizations to achieve high quality health care for all . The success of our community engagement goals is dependant on this continuous involvement and evidence-based practice . Mount Sinai Hospital has a long history of collaborating with our external stakeholders and is determined to continue this legacy through the creation of this Community Engagement Framework .

Guiding Principles

To ensure high-quality collaboration and excellence in health service delivery, Mount Sinai Hospital has established guiding principles for community engagement which are as follows:

Shared ValuesWe will work with the community and partner organizations to mutually assess our shared values and develop and implement plans that prioritize the needs of our patients and families .

Mutual Trust and Respect

We will work with our communities and partners to build trust and respect using methods appropriate to the groups we are working with . We value our patients and partners and will be respectful and inclusive when engaging with them .

CommitmentWe are committed to working with our communities and partners to enhance the experience of the patients who come to Mount Sinai Hospital .

AccountabilityWe will approach community engagement in a timely and meaningful manner . We will openly solicit feedback on our community engagement approaches and properly evaluate our approaches to ensure that we are adhering to our goals .

Sharing of Power, Decision Making and Resources

We will properly assess our community engagement approaches to determine the degree to which there is equitable sharing of power, decision making and resources .

CitizensStakeholders

Providers


Our Approach

Our community engagement approach will be adjusted to meet the needs of the specific communities that Mount Sinai Hospital is soliciting feedback from and will vary across departments . For the delivery of equitable health services, Mount Sinai Hospital continuously engages its community of diverse persons and entities when developing plans and setting priorities .

To facilitate a collaborative and multi-faceted engagement approach, Mount Sinai Hospital’s values and goals will be translated into action . This approach includes the following elements that are established below .

Identification of Community Engagement OpportunitiesThe identification of community engagement opportunities will occur through our community partner collaborations and consultations, and through research and assessment that includes the review of health service and capacity gaps, and health equity impact assessments . The latter is a flexible and practical assessment tool that can be used to identify potential health impacts (positive or negative) of a plan, policy or program on vulnerable or disadvantaged groups within the general population .

Selection of Community Engagement StrategiesMount Sinai Hospital will use a continuum of community engagement methodologies . These will range from soliciting feedback from the community through broad based open forums, including focus groups to receiving feedback through highly structured mechanisms, such as the Hospital’s Community Integration Advisory Committee (CIAC) . The appropriate community engagement technique(s) will be determined based on predetermined goals and objectives . Appendix A describes a number of methodologies that may be used in each element of the continuum .

The diagram below illustrates various levels of community engagement which ultimately are used to empower communities to participate in the decision-making process and supports them to identify their own issues, solutions, and actions towards addressing the issues that affect them .

A Continuum of Levels of Engagement

Development of Community Engagement PlanThe development of a community engagement plan includes the following components:

• The purpose of community engagement• Who will be consulted• Resources available (money, time and skills)• The current environment in which the engagement is being carried out (political, social, cultural)• Identification of service and program delivery gaps and/or initiatives in the health-care continuum• Projected outcomes/impact

The Mount Sinai Community Engagement Checklist (see Appendix B) can be used to guide your community engagement planning to ensure that all factors of the engagement are considered .

Implementation of Community EngagementMount Sinai Hospital’s Partnership Policy provides a foundation for community engagement . Partnerships are guided towards its goals and, in turn, reinforce the guiding principles of Mount Sinai Hospital’s Community Engagement Strategy .

Monitoring & Evaluation of Community EngagementMount Sinai Hospital will monitor and evaluate the outcomes of our community engagement activities . The Community Engagement Framework will be evaluated with the goal of refining our approaches and techniques . The following key considerations will be taken into account when evaluating outcomes:

• Participants have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the engagement, including the level and method;

• Participants are clear about the scope of the engagement and have a shared understanding of each others’ roles, responsibilities and authority;

• The engagement takes place when there is a real opportunity to influence the outcome;• Sufficient resources (time, budget, technology, etc .) and expertise are invested to achieve success;• Accessible opportunities are available that embrace the broad diversity of community interests;• The process is responsive to the input and needs of participants;• Relevant and credible information is gathered and distributed to participants in a timely manner and

in a manner suitable to the intended audiences; and• The communication leads to a mutual understanding of process and an understanding and acceptance

I N F O RMCommunity receives information and announcements

C O N S U LTCommunity is consulted on final plans

C O L L A B O R AT ECommunity shares decision-making

I N V O LV EOrganization gets advice on planning; feedback may change plan

E M P OW E RCommunity identifies issues, solutions and actions


Conclusion

Mount Sinai Hospital is committed to working with its patients, families and communities to ensure that our services are responsive, relevant and reflective of their needs . The Community Engagement Framework was developed to ensure that the Hospital has a well-articulated and documented approach to reaching out to patients, families and communities to receive vital feedback and input to help structure the services and programs we provide .

Mount Sinai Hospital recognizes that community engagement is a dynamic process and our approaches will be modified as we receive feedback from our external stakeholders . We welcome and encourage feedback from our partners, patients and their families on how we can continually improve our community partnership approach and further strengthen our engagement strategies .

Appendices

Appendix A: Tools and Techniques for Engagement

Tool/Technique When to Use Them Benefits/Risks

Interactive Websites and Other Web-based Tools

When you need to provide accessible, clear and appropriate information cost-effectively to a broad cross section of stakeholders and then collect easily to analyze responses for them .

• Websites can provide lots of information cost-effectively to those people with access to computers and the Internet .

• Websites can also include response forms that can be completed electronically and emailed back to the sender for immediate analysis .

• Websites can also allow stakeholders to ask questions and receive answers with the question and answers accessible to all .

Action Planning Event (i .e . forum or workshop)

When you need to produce plans of action that are owned by those affected by them or who will implement them .

Need to be structured, carefully planned and appropriately facilitated .

Advertising/Public Service Announcements

When you need to reach a broad audience of people within a community .

Can be expensive . Hard to target or monitor effectiveness . Can miss key groups .

Advisory Committees/Reference Groups

When you need consistent input or advice over a period of time from people who have good local knowledge .

Time consuming to recruit and establish . Need effective participants . Need a good facilitator and Terms of Reference . Need a sunset clause .

Brochures and Printed Material

When you need to have basic information on aspects of the project to hand or mail out .

Expensive to produce . Need a distribution method to get them to the right people . Important to have any written material translated for particular groups in a project area, or an indication where interpreters can be accessed in a number of languages .

Community Research

When you need to strengthen the partnership with specific stakeholders to provide further insights into an issue or Framework .

A team with participation from key stakeholders is required to share the responsibilities and outcomes of any research .

Fact Sheets/Information Sheets

When you need to provide consistent accurate information on aspects of the project to stake holders .

Written information needs to be clear, jargon free and illustrated where possible . Important to have any written material translated for particular groups in a project area, or an indication where interpreters can be accessed in a number of languages .


Tool/Technique When to Use Them Benefits/Risks

Focused Group Discussions

When you need to generate discussion and insights on aspects of your projects .

A skilled facilitator is needed to ensure outcomes are achieved . Timing and neutral venue are critical to ensure participation . Some reimbursement for travel may be needed .

Media or Publicity

When you need to disseminate clear and simple information within a community quickly .

Relationships with journalists need to be established early so they understand the project . Media releases need to be structured with simple clear messages .

Newsletters When you need to keep people regularly informed about progress of a long-term project .

Newsletters can be printed and distributed by mail or letterboxing, electronically distributed by email or posted on the Internet . Requires the establishment and maintenance of a stakeholder database . Requires good writing/design as well illustrations and photographs . Important to have any written material translated for particular groups in a project area, or an indication where interpreters can be accessed in a number of languages .

Open Houses When you need to present ideas or plans to a broad cross-section of stakeholders in an area to obtain responses in an informal way .

Need well illustrated displays that convey accurate information . Need staff available to take questions, discuss ideas and gauge reactions . Can include a questionnaire to collect and analyze responses .

Small Group Workshops

When you need to generate discussion and insights on aspects of your projects from a known group of stakeholders .

Need to set a clear agenda and have a facilitator who can keep the group on track . May need to reimburse group members for travel and offer meals/refreshments if the workshop lasts longer than 2 hours .

Questionnaires and Surveys

When you need to obtain specific structured responses on specific issues to obtain quantitative measurable results .

Less effective in obtaining responses to complex issues . Mail, telephone, web or face-to-face responses can be sought . Mail traditionally provides poor response rates . Important to have any written material translated for particular groups in a project area, or an indication where interpreters can be accessed in a number of languages .

Written Submissions

When you need to obtain detailed responses to a specific issue from a broad range of stakeholders .

Can exclude stakeholders who do not have time, skills or resources to write submissions . Advertising for submissions needs to be broad based and not just in newspaper Public Notes .

Appendix B: Mount Sinai Community Engagement ChecklistThis checklist can be used to assess if your community engagement approach achieves the minimum requirements for engagement .

No. When to Use Them Yes No Requires Action

1 Who are the communities and individuals impacted and how?

2 What are the purposes for engaging these communities?

3 In what timeframes and phases will engagement activities take place?

4How can you ensure individuals and communities can participate fully, i .e ., do you need to work with a community to determine how to reduce barriers to engagement?

5 What techniques will be used to engage each group and community?

6What ideas and issues were expressed by communities who were engaged and how will these ideas and issues be considered/responded to?

7What is the process for ongoing communications and feedback about how input was used and decisions made?

8 How will community engagement be evaluated?

Appendices

Community Engagement Framework: A Guide to Effective Partnership Building12

Appendices

Appendix C: Reference ListAssociation of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC) (2006) . A Review of the Trends and Benefits of Community Engagment and Local Community Governance in Health Care . Toronto, Ontario: Association of Ontario Health Centres .

South West LHIN Community Engagement Framework . Retrieved from http://www .southwestlin .on .ca

Toronto Central LHIN (2011) . Community Engagement in the Toronto Central LHIN: Creating a Common Strategy for the LHIN and Health Service Providers

Toronto Central LHIN (2011) . Community Engagement Guidelines . Retrieved from http://www .torontocentrallhin .on .ca/getinvolved .aspx

World Health Organization (1986) . Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion . Retrieved August 28, 2006 from http://www .who .int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/index .html

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