Evaluating Regional Implementation of The Roadmap

National Survey

Have your say about what works and what more is needed to improve eye care and eye health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a regional level!

Indigenous Eye Health at The University of Melbourne is asking people who work in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health sector to participate in an anonymous survey as part of a national evaluation. The survey asks questions about your experience working in the sector, what kinds of activities you’ve seen or been involved with at a regional level, what changes have happened over time, what has supported this work and what more is needed to improve eye care and eye health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

It will take around 20 minutes to complete.

Access the survey here

The survey closes on 30th April 2021 so don’t miss your opportunity to contribute to this national evaluation, and a chance to win a prize!*

*Those who complete the survey can go into the draw for a Check Today, See Tomorrow T-Shirt or a pair of Deadly Eyewear sunglasses (20 of each to be won!)

The evaluation project has received multi-site ethics and research governance approvals. For full details of ethics approvals please review the participant information sheet available here. Please consider whether you have permission from your organisation to complete the survey.

For more information about the evaluation contact Tessa Saunders via email: Tessa.Saunders@unimelb.edu.au

EOI for Case Study Regions

Share YOUR Regional Eye Health Experiences and Learning

As part of the evaluation, we are looking for regional groups or networks of stakeholders, who have been working together to identify and address the eye care needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within their local or regional area, to participate as ‘case studies’ for the evaluation. This will involve a focus group and/or interviews with people involved in the regional network.

The aim of the case studies is to explore regional approaches in more detail, to better understand and describe the activities that have been undertaken, the changes that have been seen, the key things that have worked and the challenges involved in improving eye care services and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a local or regional level. This is also an opportunity for regional groups to share their experiences and learning.

We are seeking representation of groups and networks from across urban, regional and remote geographical areas and from different states and territories. We are interested to hear from both newer and more established regional stakeholder groups and networks.

Two regions are already participating, and a second round of EOIs is now open.

EOIs for round two are due by Friday 5th February 2021.

For EOI forms and more information contact Tessa.Saunders@unimelb.edu.au

BRIEF INFO SHEET

DETAILED INFO SHEET & APPLICATION FORM

December 2020 Update

Click the image below to view a one-page overview of the evaluation methods and timelines.

Ethics approvals have now been received from 7 HRECs, including: The University of Melbourne, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW, Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee of South Australia, Human Research Ethics Committee of the Northern Territory, Central Australian Human Research Ethics Committee and the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee. Applications are pending with other entities and appropriate local approvals will be sought as required.

Data collection has started in jurisdictions where ethics approvals are finalised and this has included focus groups and interviews in two regional case-study sites. Interviews with external stakeholders on the role of IEHU in implementation of the Roadmap will start in December.

The second round of EOIs for case-study sites is now open for focus-groups and interviews to take place in February, March and April 2021 (see EOI for Case Study Regions tab)

The national survey will be released in early 2021, once all ethics approvals have been provided. The survey provides an opportunity for those working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care to share their views and experiences and the information gathered will help with planning future activities and allow learning to be shared about what works to improve eye care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Survey participants will also go into the draw to win one of 20 ‘Check Today, See Tomorrow’ t-shirts or a pair of Deadly Eyewear sunnies!

For more information, see the December 2020 evaluation update provided at the 2^nd codesign workshop here

June 2020 Update

Due to the implications of COVID-19, we have revised the methods and timelines for the evaluation. We are now working through multi-site ethics approvals with relevant ethics bodies and the evaluation tools are being finalized ready for data collection by the independent evaluators – ARTD Consultants and Clear Horizon consultants. The methods for collecting data for the evaluation will include a short online survey, key informant interviews and focus groups. To maintain social distance the key informant interviews and focus groups will need to be conducted through video and telephone. For more information about the evaluation see the evaluation project summary here

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group has been providing valuable guidance to the evaluation project. The group was established following the first co-design workshop to prioritise the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people, and includes members with a wide range of experience including health care delivery,  community engagement, health promotion, program management, policy development, evaluation, communications and advocacy roles. Current members include: Anne-Marie Banfield and Shaun Tatipata (co-chairs), Nick Wilson (secretariat), Tania McLeod, Tony Coburn, Nicole Turner, Colin Moore, Emma Robertson and Nicole Tujague.

An Expression of Interest (EOI) will be released shortly, inviting regional networks to indicate their interest in being ‘case study’ sites for the evaluation. As agreed with the evaluation co-design group, we will aim to have representation from across different jurisdictions and remoteness areas. The case studies will provide the opportunity for a deeper analysis of the different regional approaches to addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care needs. Focus Groups and interviews for the case studies will be conducted by the Aboriginal Partnerships and Projects team at ARTD Consultants.

For further information about the evaluation contact Tessa.Saunders@unimelb.edu.au

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group provides valuable guidance to the evaluation project. The group was established following the first co-design workshop to prioritise the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people and includes members with a wide range of experience, including health care delivery, community engagement, health promotion, program management, policy development, evaluation, communications and advocacy roles.

Current members include:

Anne-Marie Banfield and Shaun Tatipata (co-chairs), Nick Wilson (secretariat), Tania McLeod, Tony Coburn, Nicole Turner, Colin Moore, Emma Robertson and Nicole Tujague.

Workshop 1 October 2019

On Tuesday 29 October 2019, the first (of three) codesign workshops for the evaluation of the regional implementation of The Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision was held at The University of Melbourne. The workshop was organised by Indigenous Eye Heath and facilitated by an external Aboriginal facilitator, Kate Kelleher, with the support of the evaluation team from ARTD Consultants.

The objectives of the workshop were to ensure participants understood their role in co-designing the evaluation and how they can be involved in the evaluation and to reach broad agreement on:

• what ‘success’ of regional implementation looks like from various perspectives across the eye care pathway
• what important elements/issues can be identified to support the development of questions and methods for the evaluation
• the process/principles for identifying case study sites
• the best way to share the evaluation findings with those who will benefit from and use the findings.

Figure 1: Map of where stakeholders were from

Figure 2: Stakeholder roles across the eye care pathway

The workshop was well attended, with 38 people from across the country and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care pathway participating in great discussion throughout the day.

The input provided by workshop participants is now being used to finalise the evaluation questions and methodology. The codesign participants will continue to provide input over the course of the evaluation with the next workshop to focus on initial data once that has been collected.

Further detail about the evaluation will be shared once relevant ethics processes are completed.

Evaluation Co-design

To make sure that we are asking the right questions and using the best methods, the evaluation is being co-designed with stakeholders from across the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care pathway. Three facilitated co-design workshops will be held over the course of the evaluation and will be used to:

• Workshop 1: design the evaluation questions and methods;
• Workshop 2: provide input into interpretation of initial evaluation findings once information has been gathered; and
• Workshop 3: contribute to shaping the final recommendations and evaluation report

The first workshop, with 38 people from across the country and the pathway of care, was held in October 2019 (see Workshop1)

The second workshop, with 32 people from across the country and the pathway of care was held on 8^th December 2020.

Participation in the evaluation

Opportunities will be provided for all stakeholders to contribute to the evaluation through the national survey and/or through interviews or through case study sites.

If you have any questions about the process or what will be involved email  Tessa.Saunders@unimelb.edu.au or call (03) 9035 3972.

Background

In 2019, Indigenous Eye Health (IEH) at The University of Melbourne commenced a formal evaluation of regional implementation of The Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision (the Roadmap). Independent evaluators ARTD Consultants and Clear Horizon Consulting have been engaged to carry-out elements of this work with an experienced facilitator, Kate Kelleher, supporting the co-design process.

The aim of the evaluation is to assess current progress and effectiveness of regional implementation of the Roadmap. This will help to inform future activities, enable sharing of learnings across regions about sustainable and transferable approaches to improving eye care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and to identify any important lessons that may be transferrable beyond eye health.