Bridging the gap between the conceptual and the practical – reflections on the opportunities and challenges of meaningful engagement of people with lived experience in the context of integrated community care.
Authors: Vandensande Tinne , Fisher Jack , Ehrenberg Nieves , Stoop Sofie , Vallarino Martine , Levesque Daphnee , Lawrence Bronwyn , Desodt Frederik , Papegaey Niels 
Published: January 2024

Introduction: Participants will explore the opportunities and challenges of meaningful engagement of people with lived experience in the context of integrated community care (ICC), through a dialogue with up to three innovative ICC practices whose central premise is the co-production of wellbeing. The dialogue will be further nourished through consideration of the recently co-developed World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework for Meaningful Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Mental Health and Neurological conditions.
Context: There is ample evidence that integrated care is best suited to support those living with long-term chronic NCDs, mental health conditions and to those with medically complex needs. At the very core of ICC, lies the principle of co-developing health and wellbeing. Despite broad agreement around the benefits, there is a lack of clarity on how this is achieved and few examples of what this looks like in practice.
The WHO is currently in the process of co-developing a Framework for Meaningful Engagement of People Living with NCDs, Mental Health and Neurological conditions. Complementing this is practical guidance being produced by the Transnational Forum for ICC (TransForm) based on a collection of experiences and reflections of innovative ICC practices around Europe and Canada on the meaningful engagement of people with lived experience.
Key learning: The Framework will contribute to the advancement of understanding, knowledge and action on meaningful engagement and other related participatory approaches. The evidence base has been and will continue to driven by individuals with lived experience. The TransForm guidance on engaging people with lived experience will further help bridge the gap between the conceptual and the practical.

Audience: All those seeking to better engage and co-produce services with people with lived experience but are not sure how to start and what this looks like in practice.
Plan:

10 mins – Setting the scene

Joint presentation (WHO/TransForm)

15 mins – Overview of three TransForm changemakers

Brief presentations on each ICC practice, focusing on how they engage people with lived experience.

20 mins – Participants dialogue with the TransForm changemakers

Participants will choose one of the three Changemakers to discuss opportunities and challenges of meaningful engagement of people with lived experience

5 mins – Summary feedback from each table

Each group reports back the main opportunities and challenges identified through discussion

10 mins – Opportunities and challenges in the context of the WHO framework

Jack Fisher will close the session tying back the opportunities and challenges to the WHO Framework
How are you going to engage with the audience? Each group would have one Changemaker and one facilitator to ensure conversation centres around the question of: How can the WHO Framework and TransForm’s legacy support your practice?
How are you going to summarize the take home messages? There will be short feedback from each table on main points discussed – the facilitation team will then write up the discussions into a short and accessible summary which will be shared through social media and integrated care networks.