Presentation: The Equity in Engagement Framework

This presentation was delivered in March 2019, by Brett Nicholls and Tamara Boric from Cancer Care Ontario at the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement’s Diversity in Patient Engagement Learning Exchange event. The presenters shared Cancer Care Ontario’s journey with Rainbow Health Ontario to create the Equity in Engagement Framework: a comprehensive guideline for creating equitable engagement opportunities for under-represented patient populations. It was co-designed with three high priority, under engaged cancer care groups.

The framework moves beyond traditional methods of engagement and contains considerations for organizations to revisit their culture and facilitate equitable engagement.

Lessons learned include being mindful of population-specific considerations.

• Augment conventional engagement methods (which heavily emphasize council structures), with tailored methods to effectively engage whole populations.
• Partner with organizations that have existing and trusted relationships with under-engaged groups.
• Systems work well for specific populations when those are the people informing the system.