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Action Zone (action + zone)
Kinds of Action Zone Selected AbstractsDeveloping an assessment tool for evaluating community involvementHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2005Jane South BA RGN MA Abstract Background, Current UK policy has resulted in greater requirements for public and patient participation in health service planning and decision making. Organizations and services need to be able to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and quality of their community involvement processes, but there are few appropriate evaluation tools or sets of indicators available. This paper reports on work within Bradford Health Action Zone to develop a self-assessment tool for organizations on community involvement. Methods, A multi-agency working group developed the tool. A literature search was undertaken and evaluation resources were reviewed. A set of benchmarks for community involvement in regeneration was utilized in developing the assessment areas. A range of individuals with expertise on community involvement practice and performance management was consulted. The tool was then piloted in two primary care trusts prior to final modifications. Results, The process resulted in the production of Well Connected , a self-assessment tool on community involvement designed for organizations to assess their progress and identify areas for improvement. A scoring system assesses evidence of a strategic approach to community involvement, good practice throughout the organization, and a range of opportunities and support. Feedback from the pilots revealed that the tool had facilitated assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of organizational practices. Conclusion, The paper discusses some of the methodological challenges pertaining to the measurement of community involvement. Notwithstanding those challenges, it is argued that Well Connected provides a robust and practical framework that health organizations and their partners can use to assess practice. [source] The manager's role in mobilizing and nurturing development: entrenched and engaged approaches to changeJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010BA RGN RHV HVL RNT PGCE, SUSAN M. CARR PhD carr s.m. & clarke c.l. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management 18, 332,338 The manager's role in mobilizing and nurturing development: entrenched and engaged approaches to change Aims, Drawing on findings from the evaluation of a Health Action Zone (HAZ), this paper explores the manager's role in promoting and nurturing learning. Background, Initiating practice development is a core function of the manager's role. Learning must be nurtured to reach beyond individual to organizational learning and address knowledge exchange as well as creation. In the United Kingdom, HAZs were established to reduce health inequalities. They embraced a variety of service delivery approaches, all with an emphasis on developing new ways of working and innovation. Methods, Qualitative interviews of the HAZ coordinators, performance manager and staff delivering services. Results, Two alternative ways of engagement and entrenchment to practice were identified to developing new ways of working and learning from experience. Conclusions, Development of sustainable and enduring structures which facilitate learning at both individual and organizational levels are key to utilization of knowledge and accumulation of learning. Implications for nursing management, When entrenched and engaged experiential learning in practice are pursued, the role of the manager as a catalyst needs to be highlighted. A tool is proposed to facilitate reflection and promote action plan development. This tool has potential general application, but our experience is that it makes a specific contribution to public health and primary care. [source] Health Action Zones: Partnerships for Health EquityHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 4 2006Andrea Wild Dr No abstract is available for this article. [source] COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY AND STRATEGIES IN AREA-BASED INITIATIVESPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2006HELEN SULLIVAN Despite considerable evaluator investment in examining partnership activity in UK public policy initiatives, little attention has been paid to the role of strategy in supporting the generation and harnessing of the resources necessary to collaborate effectively. This paper focuses on one of the first New Labour initiatives , Health Action Zones (HAZ) , and draws on national evaluation findings to delineate local strategies, assess their application in practice and reflect on their contribution to collaborative action. The paper argues that even within nationally constrained policy initiatives there is sufficient flexibility for local actors to select strategies to steer collaborative effort, but these strategies are informed by their operating context and are liable to change in response to experience and changes in context. In addition, the evaluation findings suggest that effective strategies are those which harness collaborative capacity across a range of dimensions. The paper concludes by identifying implications for theory, policy and evaluation. [source] |