Thank you for considering a group conversation on the ACT Preventive Health Action Plan. Below is a downloadable version of the survey and a guide on how to host your group conversation. If you have any questions, please let us know by sending an email to acthealthphp@act.gov.au

The information included in the group conversation guide is also included below for your easy reference.

The ACT Government is seeking feedback on the draft ACT Preventive Health Action Plan 2023-2025. This plan aims to support Canberrans to live in the best possible health by preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and mental health conditions.

We encourage groups in the community to come together and have a guided group conversation about actions you think the government should take to prevent chronic disease.

How to host a guided group conversation in 3 simple steps

• Find your people
• Have a conversation
• Share the results

Get together with a group of people who want to have a conversation about how the ACT Government can support Canberrans to live in good health and prevent chronic disease.

Nominate one person to host and lead the group conversation. Use this how-to guide and the group conversation survey.

Questions for discussion are grouped under the 5 priority areas of the plan and you can choose to answer all of them or just focus on the area(s) your group is most interested in.

Choose someone in the group to fill out the group conversation survey. Either submit online or return the hard copy by email or post. Alternatively, you can provide a YourSay group conversation submission if you want to provide feedback but not respond to the survey questions.

What is a guided group conversation?

A guided group conversation is a guided conversation between people about a topic that may be important to many people in our community. This is an easy and interactive way to have your say on how the ACT Government can help all Canberrans to stay well and as healthy as possible throughout life.

Who can participate?

Guided group conversations can take place with any small group of people, in any location. It can be a group of friends around a kitchen table or in a café, colleagues in the workplace, members of a local organisation, a community group meeting or even a sporting team after a training session.

Community organisations, groups and industry peaks are encouraged to support their members to have these conversations so we can help more Canberrans to get involved.

What you will need

• A group of people to come together to talk.
• This ‘how-to’ guide for hosting a group conversation.
• A laptop, tablet or mobile phone to submit the group’s feedback in the YourSay group conversation survey or as a written YourSay group conversation submission. Alternatively, have a printed copy of the survey to fill out.
• A pen and notebook or laptop to take notes.

How to host a guided group conversation

Every guided group conversation needs a host. The host is responsible for helping the group through the process and communicating the questions from the survey. The host can either record the group’s responses themselves or organise for one of the group members to fill out the group survey or draft the submission.

A guided group conversation host supports all members of the group to participate and have their voices heard, including those who may not use the YourSay platform.

The host should follow these simple steps for the guided group conversation.

• Start the conversation by welcoming everyone and sharing information about the aim of the guided group conversation. You can use the script below as a guide if you choose.
• Think about providing printed copies of the draft ACT Preventive Health Action Plan 2023-2025 to your group to refer to throughout your conversation, otherwise view it online.
• View the YourSay group conversation survey, either online or in printed form. You will be asked to answer some basic questions about the members of your group. These questions will help us better understand the perspectives and needs of people with a diverse range of lived experiences.
• Ask the group which priority area(s) they would like to focus on. You don’t need to respond to every question or priority area.
• Nominate one person in the group who will submit feedback using either the YourSay group conversation survey (printed or online) or through a written YourSay group conversation submission on the behalf of the group. This person can be either the host or another member of the group.
• Depending on how your will provide your feedback, you can read out the questions in the survey that you and your group would like to answer and/or discuss how you would like to frame and provide your feedback. The group conversation survey questions are there as a guide. If you don’t want to respond to the survey, your group might prefer the YourSay group conversation submission option.
• Your group has 3 options for returning your feedback, choose one:
  • Complete the online YourSay group conversation survey and make sure you pick the "I'm filling this out through a guided group conversation" option at the start of the survey form.
  • Fill out a hard copy version of the YourSay group conversation survey and submit it by post to Preventive and Population Health Policy, Level 3, 6 Bowes Street, Phillip ACT 2606 or take a photo/scan of the survey and email to acthealthphp@act.gov.au
  • If your group would like to provide feedback but not use the survey questions, you can write your feedback in a format that suits the group and lodge it as a group conversation submission by emailing acthealthphp@act.gov.au or by posting to the above address.

A script to help your conversation

Starting the conversation:

• Thank everyone for coming: ‘Welcome everyone and thank you for coming together today to talk about our experiences and perspectives on how to prevent certain chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancers or mental health conditions in our community.’
• Acknowledgement of Country: ‘I would like to start by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land we are meeting on, the Ngunnawal people and recognise any other people and families with connection to the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and region, and we also welcome any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today.’
• Handling sensitive topics: Some questions and topics may not be appropriate for all groups. It is recommended the host read the questions before asking the group to provide feedback. If the host thinks any question may cause group members to become uncomfortable or distressed, this question should not be asked. Group members should not be asked to provide personal information about their medical history or other sensitive information.
• Consider setting a time limit and letting people know they can take breaks, for example: ‘This discussion will take about an hour. If anyone needs to take a break at any time, please feel free to do that. The conversation will continue, but your views will still be included.’
• Discuss confidentiality and get agreement: ‘I will not be providing the ACT Government with any of your names and the government will not share any of your personal stories or experiences. Also, what we discuss today should not be shared with other people. We want everyone to feel safe to say what they think in this group. Can everyone agree to that?’
• Introduce the members of the group to each other, if required.
• Introduce the ACT Preventive Health Action Plan: ‘The ACT Government is developing an action plan to reduce the impacts of chronic disease in our community. The goal of the action plan is to prevent chronic disease and support more Canberrans to enjoy the highest standards of health at every stage of life.’
• Talk about the purpose: ‘The ACT Government wants to understand what the ACT community thinks is important when it comes to preventing chronic disease in the Canberra community. One of the ways the ACT Government is encouraging people to provide feedback is to get together in small groups to discuss what is important to them. A draft action plan has been provided to us to comment on and identify areas they could take further action.’ If you have printed copies of the draft action plan, hand them out.
• Ask someone to take notes and explain the YourSay group conversation survey and YourSay group conversation submission: ‘While we are talking I (or nominate someone) will take notes based on our conversation. At the end of our discussion, we will fill out the group conversation survey or complete a group conversation submission with what we think is most important for the ACT Government to know from our experiences and perspectives.’
• Ask the group what priority areas they would like to discuss: ‘There are lots of areas in our lives and factors that contribute to preventing chronic disease here in the ACT. Under the action plan there are 5 priority areas and we can discuss some or all of them. They are:
  • supporting children and families
  • enabling active living
  • increasing healthy eating
  • reducing risky behaviours
  • promoting healthy ageing.'

• Use the YourSay group survey questions to guide your discussion.
• Bring the discussion to a close by summarising the main things discussed: ‘Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and the things that are important to you. Things that seemed most important to people include…’
• Tell the group how the ACT Government will listen and respond to what they have said: ‘The ACT Government will be gathering all of the experiences and recommendations people share and will consider this feedback before the action plan is finalised. A report will summarise the feedback people shared while maintaining the confidentiality of what people contributed. This will be available for everyone to read.’
• Thank everyone again for their contribution and close the guided group conversation.

For more information contact acthealthphp@act.gov.au