Representing patients and healthcare workers in health advocacy

About the project

The Foundation’s capacity strengthening grants stream supports smaller Commonwealth civil society organisations in smaller Member States, building their expertise and enhancing their capacity to influence policy.

Patient and healthcare professional voices are an indispensable component of effective health advocacy. They lend credibility to advocates and ensure healthcare decisions are based on patient needs. We are supporting Hope Foundation to ensure their advocacy fully includes the voices of patients and healthcare professionals in Barbados. Hope Foundation will survey patients to understand their needs before disseminating the findings to healthcare providers. We are also facilitating the adoption of new fundraising software to generate more income for the organisation.

The key actions for this project are:

• Conducting interviews and focus groups to assess patient knowledge and satisfaction with the healthcare they receive
• Building advocacy recommendations on healthcare using survey feedback
• Disseminating recommendations to health groups and providers
• Acquiring new donor management software
• Training staff to increase fundraising by using donor management software and social media

Increased fundraising capacity will enable Hope Foundation to obtain the resources necessary for better advocacy. By giving greater representation to patients in advocacy, it is hoped that this project will see healthcare providers adopt practices more closely aligned with patient needs.