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Resources to support patient, family and caregiver engagement and partnership 

Join the OHT communities of practice focused on patient, family and caregiver partnership and engagement on the .

for patients, families and caregivers working with OHTs, OHT staff interested in and supporting engagement, and provincial organizations supporting partnership and engagement.

Improving equitable access to care and improving health outcomes and experiences is core to the vision for Ontario Health Teams (OHTs). As outlined in the released in 2019, patient, family and caregiver engagement and partnership is a foundational building block of the OHT model and critical to the implementation of a population-health management approach. 

Many OHTs are strengthening partnerships with patients, families and caregivers as a central element of OHT development. OHTs are engaging patients, families and caregivers as key partners in decision-making in governance (e.g., as steering committee members), leadership (e.g., as Patient and Family Advisory Council chairs), and co-design processes (e.g., as working group co-leaders). Key guidance documents to support OHTs in advancing patient, family and caregiver engagement across their spectrum of work are the and the to support OHTs in developing their Patient, Family and Caregiver Partnership and Engagement Strategy.

To support meaningful engagement and partnership with patients, families and caregivers, OHTs can draw on the assets and resources that have been developed by the ministry as well as health-system partners, including the (HSPN), (OCO), (OH), (PPEC), and Rapid Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE), among others. 

Organized below by population-health management component, each of the eight OHT building blocks, and population focus, the following assets and resources provide guidance for all OHTs to strengthen meaningful patient, family and caregiver engagement and partnership.

Resources to support patient, family and caregiver engagement in OHTs’ planning, design and delivery of services organized by population-health management component

Component in population-health management approach, including implementation considerations Resources
RISEPartner organizationsMinistry of Health and Ontario HealthCurated searches
Population identification  
  • The Entités developed a provincial
  
Segmentation for needs, risks and barriers  
  • Health Commons Solutions Lab developed a tool to map available community services
  • The Public and Patient Engagement Collaborative developed the , which highlights key considerations with tailored resources to support OHTs to bring a stronger equity focus to their engagement work
  • Ontario Health developed a resource to support
 
Co-designing person-centered care models and service mix
  • Rapid synthesis and brief on empowering caregivers to deliver home-based restorative care
  • Citizen brief and panel summary on engaging patients, families and caregivers in OHTs
  • Webinar on how OHTs can meaningfully engage their community and develop appropriate mechanisms for communication
  • Plain language summary - Five areas should be prioritized to increase public participation and influence in local decision-making

  • HSPN developed a and accompanying on the quadruple aim -patient-reported experience 
  • HSPN has a , including  
  • OCO has a section to support meaningful engagement and co-design 
  • OCO developed a and on caregiver perspectives on meaningful engagement
  • OCO offers on 15 ways to support meaningful engagement with patients, families and caregivers 
  • OCO offered a series of webinars on , , and .
  • The Algoma Ontario Health Team developed a  that can help other organizations include patients, families, and caregivers in their work
  • PPEC developed in collaboration with patient, family, and caregiver partners and engagement leads from OHTs, the MPFAC Chair, and the Ministry of Health. This framework outlines the competencies, supports and enablers needed to build engagement-capable OHTs along with a one-stop shop of resources to facilitate learning and development
  • The Muskoka and Area OHT developed an FAQ document to support learning about PFC partnership, engagement, and co-design.
 
Implementation and reach
  • Plain language summary - Patient‐reported health information and patient education can improve healthcare professionals’ adherence to recommended clinical practice
  • Plain language summary - Community engagement, culture centeredness, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation are key to implement health interventions in Indigenous communities

  • Indigenous Primary Health Care Council (IPHCC) developed
  • PPEC prepared a brief on experiences in OHTs
  
Monitoring and evaluation 
  • PPEC has developed two evaluation tools 
    • to evaluate the process of engagement and early impacts for use with patient, family and caregiver  advisors as well as organizations for short-term and long-term projects  
    • The to support the development of an evaluation plan and logic model to evaluate the impacts of engagement 
  • PPEC developed a webinar series to support implementation of the Engage with Impact Toolkit
  • PPEC offers coaching upon request to support the evaluation of patient, family and caregiver engagement (including the implementation of the PPEET and Engage with Impact Toolkit)
 

 

Resources to support patient, family and caregiver engagement in OHTs’ planning, design and delivery of services organized by OHT building block

OHT building blocks Resources
RISEPartner organizationsMinistry of Health and Ontario HealthCurated searches
Building block #1: Defined patient population toward population health management and equity (who is covered, and what does ‘covered’ mean?)
  • Plain language summary - community engagement, culture centredness, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation are key to implement health interventions in Indigenous communities
 
Building block #2: In-scope services (what is covered?)    
Building block #3: Patient partnership and community engagement (how are patients engaged)
  • Rapid synthesis and brief on empowering caregivers to deliver home-based restorative care
  • Citizen brief and panel summary on engaging patients, families and caregivers in OHTs
  • Webinar on how OHTs can meaningfully engage their community and develop appropriate mechanisms for communication
  • Plain language summary - Five areas should be prioritized to increase public participation and influence in local decision-making
  • Plain language summary – community engagement, culture centredness, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation are key to implement health interventions in Indigenous communities
  • OCO developed a and on caregiver perspectives on meaningful engagement
  • OCO offers on 15 ways to support meaningful engagement with patients, families and caregivers 
  • OCO offered a series of webinars on , , and . 
  • PPEC has developed two evaluation tools:
    • to evaluate the process of engagement and early impacts for use with patient, family and caregiver advisors as well as organizations for short-term and long-term projects  
    • The , to support the development of an evaluation plan and logic model to evaluate the impacts of engagement
  • PPEC developed a webinar series to support implementation of the Engage with Impact Toolkit
  • PPEC offers coaching upon request to support the evaluation of PFC engagement (including the implementation of the PPEET and the Engage with Impact Toolkit) 
  • PPEC developed a brief on  
  • Together with RISE and patient, family and caregiver partners,
  • PPEC developed  in collaboration with patient, family, and caregiver partners and engagement leads from OHTs, the MPFAC Chair, and the Ministry of Health. This framework outlines the competencies, supports and enablers needed to build engagement-capable OHTs along with a one-stop shop of resources to facilitate learning and development
  • The Muskoka and Area OHT developed an FAQ document to support learning about PFC partnership, engagement, and co-design.
  • The Public and Patient Engagement Collaborative developed the , which highlights key considerations with tailored resources to support OHTs to bring a stronger equity focus to their engagement work
The Institute for Better Health created an OHT Patient, Caregiver & Community Engagement Learning Series

Trillium Health Partners’ Institute for Better Health collaborated with patients, families and caregivers, OHT support partners, the ministry and Support House to develop a  including webinars and workbooks on key competencies for meaningful engagement.

 
Building block #4: Patient care and experience and service delivery (how are patient experiences and outcomes measured and supported?)

  • HSPN developed a and accompanying on the quadruple aim -patient-reported experience 
  • HSPN has , including  
  • OCO offered a series of webinars on , ,  
  • OCO partnerships team is available on request to provide guidance to OHT’s on caregiver engagement, support and inclusion in patient care
  • The Algoma Ontario Health Team developed a that can help other organizations include patients, families, and caregivers in their work
  
Building block #5: Digital health and information sharing (how are data and digital solutions harnessed?) 
  • The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
  
Building block #6: Leadership, accountability and governance (how are governance and delivery arrangements aligned, and how are providers engaged?)
  • Plain language summary - Five areas should be prioritized to increase public participation and influence in local decision-making
  • HSPN ADVANCE developed on topics such as
  • PPEC developed the to evaluate the process of engagement and early impacts to survey PFC advisors as well as organizations for short-term and long-term projects  

  
Building block #7: Funding and incentive structure (how are financial arrangements aligned?) 
  • The  
  • OCO developed a resource on for patient, family and caregiver advisors
  
Building block #8: Performance measurement, quality improvement, and continuous learning (how is rapid learning and improvement supported?) 
  • PPEC has developed two evaluation tools 
    • to evaluate the process of engagement and early impacts for use with patient, family and caregiver  advisors as well as organizations for short-term and long-term projects  
    • The to support the development of an evaluation plan and logic model to evaluate the impacts of engagement 
  • PPEC developed a webinar series to support implementation of the Engage with Impact Toolkit
  • PPEC offers coaching upon request to support the evaluation of patient, family and caregiver engagement (including the implementation of the PPEET and Engage with Impact Toolkit)
  • PPEC developed a brief on
 

Resources to support patient, family and caregiver engagement in OHTs’ planning, design and delivery of services organized by population focus

Population groupResources
Older adults
  • Regional Geriatric Programs of Ontario offer
  • Behavioural Supports Ontario’s includes people with dementia, neurological conditions, or mental health and/or substance-use problems and their caregivers
  • Regional Geriatric Programs of Ontario conducted a series of focus groups to understand the who support older adults living with frailty
  • An Ontario Health report on and an Ontario Caregiver Organization publication spotlight on Ontario’s caregivers describe the challenges faced by unpaid caregivers, including those caring for older adults with greater needs
  • supports trained volunteers to visit people where they live and learn about their health needs and goals. They send the information to their primary-care-anchored health team to inform care planning, and often check in again on progress
  • The develops resources and tools relating to culturally safe dementia care for Indigenous people
  • Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care have resources for supporting diverse older adults in long-term care including and older adults
  • The 鶹Ƶ University Collaborative for Health and Aging developed a on principles and strategies for partnering with older adults, caregivers and public research partners
People with chronic conditions 
  • Ontario Health developed a patient conversation guide to support patients, families and caregivers with the management of , , , (draft), (draft)
  • The University of Ottawa Heart Institute produced a
  • The Northwestern Ontario Regional Stroke Network developed
  • strengthens Indigenous community capacity to reduce the impact of diabetes 
  • The Ontario Native Women’s Association administers an project
People with mental health and addictions concerns 
  • The Provincial System Support Program at CAMH published
  • The Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health has created standards for and engagement, and The New Mentality initiative also offers  
  • initiative published youth-led policy recommendations for improved preventive mental health care, reduced wait times and more supportive school environments for youth with mental health challenges 
  • The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health developed mental health promotion guides for three specific populations: , and
  • A number of resources exist with respect to the engagement of peers within organizations:
    • The represents peer-led and consumer/survivor organizations in Ontario, and provides peer support training
    • Addictions and Mental Health Ontario published a    
    • The Provincial System Support Program offers  
  • The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health offers for developing relationships between community mental health service agencies and campus mental health services
  • Resources related to engaging specific populations include:
    • The initiative, based at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, fosters partnerships between mental health and addictions services and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, and supports culturally relevant initiatives
    • EENet’s offer resources around common issues in mental health and addictions, offering evidence-based approaches to service and system design 
  • The Ontario Caregiver Organization has an for caregivers and providers for caregivers who are supporting individuals with mental health 
  • The Ontario Caregiver Organization has for caregivers supporting someone in the mental health and addiction system
People who could benefit from a palliative approach to care
  • Ontario Palliative Care Network created a to support providers with engaging patients and their families and caregivers in discussions about advance care planning, goals of care and consent
  • Ontario Palliative Care Network has created a one-page on person-centred decision-making
  • Quality Hospice Palliative Care Coalition of Ontario has developed the Patient and caregiver declaration of rights at end-of-life (available by request through ) 
  • Hospice Palliative Care Ontario developed a on how to create compassionate communities
  • Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) developed a palliative care for Indigenous communities which can be used to help support those with cancer who have palliative-care needs

 

If you know of a resource that would be helpful to include on this page, please send it to rise@mcmaster.ca.