Oral Presentation ANZOS Annual Scientific Meeting 2021

Involving people with lived experience of obesity in policy and service development (#71)

Clare Mullen 1
  1. Health Consumers' Council WA, East Perth, WA, Australia

Consumer stories, voices, needs, and interests are at the foundation of the development and implementation of the WA Healthy Weight Action Plan. The Plan is a collaboration between Health Consumers' Council WA, the Department of Health, and the WA Primary Health Alliance.

Partnering with consumers is a requirement of all public and private hospitals, and day procedure services that are required to be accredited to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards1. "The active involvement of consumers and community members in health and medical research benefits the quality and direction of research."2

Health Consumers' Council WA has been creating opportunities for people with overweight and obesity to share their stories and experiences to ensure that health services and policy in WA are planned and implemented based on a good understanding of the needs and experiences of consumers since 2018.

In this session we'll share a number of the lessons we have learned about how people with obesity want to be involved, the importance of tailoring involvement activities to reach particular groups, as well as what people with obesity would like to see from general and specialist health services.

We'll also share insights from the consultations we've undertaken, including on how consumers feel about talking about weight with health professionals.

  1. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, National Safety and Quality Health Services, https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards
  2. Statement on Consumer and Community involvement in Health and Medical Research, National Health and Medical Research Council (2016), Consumers Health Forum of Australia. p5