Mackay Showcasse
Mackay Childhood Injury Prevention Project (ChIPP)
- Background
- What is different about this case study that shows how government and communities can better engage with each other?
- What are the key outcomes of the case study for government and community?
- What are the key learnings/insights about community engagement?
- What will sustain community engagement into the future in this case study?
This case study is an example of government reaching out to community members through a regional project linked to a broader multi-agency initiative. The project involves Human Service agencies working in partnership with private sector Stakeholders, local government, tertiary institutions and community groups to increase community awareness of home safety practices and reduce the incidence of childhood injuries.
Background
The Mackay Childhood Injury Prevention Project (ChIPP) is one of two child injury prevention demonstration projects established in Queensland within a multi-agency framework and is jointly funded by Queensland Health and the Department of Emergency Services.
Injury is the leading cause of death in Queensland children with data indicating higher rates of injuries in rural areas, including MacKay Injury prevention is not an area that is likely to generate extreme positions or conflicting views. While this makes it easier to establish consensus amongst stakeholders it is also more difficult to generate media and community interest in injury reduction programs.
The ChIPP project is based on the principles of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Safe Communities model and builds on the work of the Mackay/ Whitsunday Safe Communities project established in February 2000. It is a community based safety promotion project that coordinates a systematic and sustained response to regional injury rates. Mackay City and Whitsunday Shire are awaiting WHO accreditation as designated international 'safe communities'.
Mackay was selected as a ChIPP demonstration site primarily because of its long history of community identification and involvement in injury prevention, the networks and structures established under the Safe Communities program and its access to sources of local data and expertise in its analysis.
A project officer has been appointed to assist with the implementation of the ChIPP project in Mackay. The Queensland Injury Surveillance Network (QISU) is also providing detailed hospital emergency presentation data to enable ChIPP to better target and evaluate intervention strategies.
What is different about this case study that shows how government and communities can better engage with each other?
As the precursor project and facilitating framework for the ChIPP project, Mackay/Whitsunday Safe Communities was able to effectively engage the communities of Mackay City and Whitsunday Shire, and mobilise action, around a major health problem that was not regarded as a community concern.
The Mackay ChIPP program has four features that distinguish it from many other Government service delivery programs:
- community engagement, capacity building and ownership as the principle strategy to achieve project outcomes;
- access to a mechanism to facilitate whole-of-government responses and influence relevant Departmental policies and decision-making;
- indicators of community capacity and network sustainability as part of both project strategies and outcomes; and
- linked to and supported by similar initiatives at the State, national and international levels.
While the project is in its early stages, this combination of factors provides a unique opportunity for the communities of Mackay to work together in identifying and implementing their own solutions to childhood injury rates.
What are the key outcomes of the case study for government and community?
For government the ChIPP is an investment in the community engagement/community capacity approach to the delivery of core business for Queensland Health and the Department of Emergency Services. It offers the potential to achieve more effective and efficient outcomes through 'joined-up' initiatives with other stakeholders in State and local government, the community and business sectors. For the community, the project provides a means to develop and transfer knowledge, skills and relationships gained in the child injury context to other issues and situations.
What are the key learnings/insights about community engagement?
A number of mechanisms have been incorporated into the ChIPP project to document and assess key learnings about community engagement and other major components of the project. These include:
- a Community Capacity Index (CCI) which will be administered at various intervals to measure the increased capacity and sustainability of the networks created through the project;
- an process log to document the steps involved in project establishment and phases of development;
- an external panel which will evaluate project documentation against current best practice.
What will sustain community engagement into the future in this case study?
Sustaining a strong community engagement component within the ChIPP project will require:
- a continued investment by government agencies in their organisational capacity to work collaboratively and effectively with community groups and other departments;
- maintaining structured approaches such as the Safe Communities model that facilitate processes of working together;
- ensuring that ownership of the issue, interventions and outcomes continues to be shared;
- engagement with networks of related projects at State, national and international levels.
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