Health policies and services developed by people working from a lived experience perspective are more relevant to patients, lead to more effective use of health resources, and are considered more trustworthy than initiatives driven only by other health professionals such as doctors, nurses, or allied health workers. Health systems are increasingly recognising the importance of collaborating with people with lived experience. Initiatives using approaches to collaboration such as co-production or co-design, patient and public involvement, and consumer engagement have proliferated in recent years. People working from lived experience perspectives, however, are still often excluded by hierarchies in health systems that keep them away from decision-making and agenda-setting opportunities.This masterclass will explore the paradigm shift needed to break through the lived experience glass ceiling, and to develop a health system in which the expertise of people working from a lived experience perspective is considered of equal importance to that of other health professionals. 
 

About the speaker

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Dr Brett Scholz

Brett Scholz is a Research Fellow in the Medical School, ANU College of Health and Medicine. He is Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Adelaide Medical School at The University of Adelaide and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health at the University of Canberra. Prior to his current position, he held a Research Fellowship in the SYNERGY Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre at the University of Canberra and ACT Health, was a Lecturer in the Centre for Applied Psychology at the University of Canberra, and completed his PhD in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide. Brett has served as a Board Member for the ACT Mental Health Consumer Network, and has been involved as Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer for Spur Projects. He is currently an Editorial Board Member of the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing and an Associate Editor of BMC Health Services Research.

As a critical health psychologist, Brett's research often focuses on ways in which health and health services can be more equitable, challenging power norms, and lead by consumers. He has published refereed journal articles in Palliative Medicine, Health Psychology, Health Policy, Health Expectations, Health Promotion International, Qualitative Health Research, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, Journal of Mental Health, among others.

Brett is an Executive Committee member of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology, a Scientific Committee member of the European Conference on Mental Health, and an Organising Committee member of the Service Users in Academia Symposium. He is co-editor of The Operative Word, the podcast of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology.