RDN facilitates workshop to plan inaugural ‘Strategic Outcomes Roadmap’ for the Western NSW Eye Health Partnership

RDN facilitated the Western NSW Eye Health Partnership ‘Strategic Outcomes Roadmap’ workshop at Dubbo Cultural Centre recently to help create its inaugural five-year plan.  

The Partnership is funded by The Fred Hollows Foundation under their Indigenous Australia Program and aims to increase access to eye health services for Aboriginal people and improve vision and eye health across Western NSW region. The project aims for Aboriginal-led eye health services in the community to improve access through early intervention initiatives. 

25 participants attended the in-person workshop with partners in attendance including Aboriginal Health Practitioners, Aboriginal Health Workers, Nurses, and Practice Managers from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.  Participants also represented organisations including RDN, ACCHSs, Western LHD, Western PHN, Brien Holden Vision Institute, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Vision Australia, Dubbo Public Eye Clinic, Outback Eye Service, Fred Hollows Foundation and the University of Western Australia.  

Senior Project Officer of the Partnership, Jessica Rae from RDN, organised the workshop and said that reporting evaluation outcomes against the Roadmap, will allow for clear assessment of the ongoing impact of the project against the priorities set by the Partnership. 

“The Roadmap aims to be an evidence-based monitoring and evaluation plan with clear, tangible, and measurable goals which will be developed in consultation with partners,” Jessica said. 

“It is one of the first of its kind Australia-wide and myself, Assoc. Prof. Khyber Alam and AHP from Condobolin AMS, Toi Whiley, have submitted an abstract to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference for 2024, to present on the initial construction stages of the Strategic Roadmap,” she said. 

Reflecting on the day, Jessica said, “The discussion and input from partners demonstrated the wealth of experience in this region as well as a joint vision and commitment toward improving reversible causes of vision loss in our communities.” 

In the coming months, a draft ‘Strategic Outcomes Roadmap’ will be created by Assoc. Prof Khyber Alam, Jingyi Chen and Jessica Rae and the consultation with stakeholders will launch again to determine the partnership stance on recommendations made in the Roadmap, based on feedback during the workshop. The result being a partnership-led collaborative care initiative, outlining the next five years of eye health actions and evaluation.