Consultation
Public Consultation for the development of the Inclusion Health Framework
From Department of Health
Published on
Open for submissions from
Submissions closed
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Open for submissions from
Submissions closed
Last updated on
Consultation is closed
Inclusion health seeks to prevent and address the health and social inequalities experienced by groups of people due to poverty, social exclusion and multi-morbidity.
Inclusion health can be defined as a service, research, and policy agenda that aims to prevent and redress health and social inequities among socially excluded groups. Interventions are designed to address the social determinants of health, such as the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, and to provide integrated and comprehensive healthcare services that aim to drive improvements that meet the needs of socially excluded groups, and to support innovation and productivity, while also enabling the delivery of personalised and responsive care.
The importance of applying the inclusion health lens within policy and service provision was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which people experiencing social exclusion were rendered especially vulnerable. An inclusion health approach guided the government’s response to the pandemic, which was based on enhanced cooperation between departments, agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
This was greatly apparent in homeless services and services working with Traveller communities: socially excluded groups in congregated settings received priority action in terms of shielding, detection, case management, contact tracing and vaccination. These efforts greatly mitigated the risk of COVID-19 among these populations. This helped to flatten the curve and greatly minimised the case numbers below what was initially forecast, further demonstrating the benefits of collaborative working between government departments, agencies and NGO’s.
The department is developing an Inclusion Health Framework. The department has contracted Inclusion Health Research Group (IHRG) in the College of Medicine and Health, UCC, to undertake a consultation process to inform the development of the Framework.
The purpose of the framework is to incorporate an inclusion health approach across all aspects of health policy and practice.
In the context of the work of the Department of Health, the rationale for an inclusion health approach is threefold:
The consultation process will involve an online survey, consultation events and consultations using the World Café methodology.
The survey is being hosted by Qualtrics. You can complete the survey by clicking here.
The closing date for the public consultation is 5pm on the 12 November 2024. It will not be possible to access the online survey after this time.
This is a survey on peoples experiences in accessing health services, in the context of inclusion health.
Your views will contribute to the development of the Inclusion Health Framework.
The information from the public consultation will be analysed by the UCC research team and a report will be prepared for the Department of Health. This report will be used to draft the Inclusion Health Framework.