MPA Major Research Papers
Date of Award
7-1-2017
Degree Type
Major Research Paper
Degree Name
Master of Public Administration
Program
Political Science
Geographical Areas
Ontario, Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs)
Abstract
This study identifies and explains variation in the choices of public engagement methods across Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks, in order to inform the policy space these organizations operate in with respect to enabling citizen participation in regional health planning decisions. The websites of all 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were searched for three key documents that detail their past and future public engagement method choices. Drawing from the literature, a multi-metric qualitative scoring framework was designed to explore patterns of variation in public engagement method choices across each region. The findings demonstrate that there is minimal variation in the choices of public engagement methods across Local Health Integration Networks, but suggest that variation in regional characteristics provide different justification for the same methods being chosen across multiple jurisdictions. The study concludes by outlining opportunities for public engagement practitioners in Ontario and other jurisdictions to improve the rigour of the proposed framework and potential use as a predictive tool of public engagement method choice dependent on variation in regional characteristics.
Recommended Citation
Sandor, Paul, "Pluralism in Regional Health Planning: An Analysis of Public Engagement in Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks" (2017). MPA Major Research Papers. 172.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/lgp-mrps/172