Inclusive Health Communication in SDA: Advisory Group
This project is about health communication in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), otherwise known as Group Homes. The Advisory Group plays an important role in the project. Group members are working with Deakin University researchers, Able Australia, Northcott, Inclusion Melbourne and Agosci to explore:
- What information Group Home residents and staff need to know about COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
- What makes this information easy to access?
- What makes this information hard to access?
The Group helps the researchers to:
- Develop consent forms and information statements for participants
- Write interview questions
- Decide what’s important to look for in the observational study
- Analyse (understand) the findings of the research
- Decide how to share the findings with Group Home residents, staff, the public, and the Government.
- Make sure that people with disability and Group Home staff are included and respected in the research.
To learn more about being involved in the advisory group, please watch the video below.
Who is on the Advisory Group?
The Advisory Group includes:
- People with intellectual disability who live in a Group Home
- People who work at Northcott and Able Australia, and know about Group Homes
- People from advocacy groups such as Inclusion Melbourne and Agosci.
The Advisory Group decides how they want to help the research team and how they want to work together. Communication supports such as sign language, pictures, videos and interpreters help all advisory group members to be involved.
Values of the Advisory Group
The following principles are important to the success of the group.
- The Advisory Group and research team members may hold different perspectives and beliefs. This difference is valuable and improves the research process.
- Advisory Group members will respect each others’ beliefs.
- Advisory Group members will communicate professionally. They will listen and take turns.
- If an Advisory Group member says they will do a task, they will try to get it finished on time.
- Advisory Group members will let the research team know if they can’t attend a meeting or finish a task on time.
- Advisory Group members will be honest if the team is making a decision about something that will benefit them personally.
- Members will not share private information about the research or other members, outside of the group.
For more information about our project Advisory Group, contact the project team via [email protected]