Ensuring continuity of engagement

Engagement. It’s a common term, however, effective engagement is often nuanced by our individual contexts and the experiences that have shaped who we are, what we value and how we do what we do.

In health, the effectiveness of engagement can be reliant on the desire and capability of a person, their whānau and the service provider to participate in care in ways that are meaningful and relevant for that person in order to maximise their health outcomes.

COVID-19 has forced us all to look at engagement differently. To uncover new ways to engage at a distance, or through technology, while still striving to achieve real connection and create therapeutic relationships.

Therefore, it isn’t surprising that engagement emerged as a key theme at our Child and Youth stream forum on 25 June. The forum, attended by more than 60 people from across New Zealand, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), whānau, youth consumer advisors and sector leaders explored the different ways services sought to ensure continuity of engagement with rangatahi throughout the COVID-19 lockdown and highlighted the complexities that can exist in getting engagement right.

We’re thrilled to showcase presentations from our June Child and Youth stream forum in this issue of The Indicator, and to share some of our learnings as the KPI Programme team about the use of Zoom for future forums and sector engagement.

It is getting cold out there, so why not take this opportunity to grab a hot cuppa and warm your hands and your mind with some of the voices of our KPI Programme.

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