The VCCC Alliance will next week release a holistic framework that seeks to support the Victorian cancer sector to embed a culture of equity.
The Cancer Equity Framework, to be launched in a live webinar on Monday 9 September, highlights the historical power structures in research and healthcare systems that have prevented underserved communities from receiving the best cancer care, and provides a roadmap to support all those working in the cancer sector to be attuned to equity in practice.
“There is a clear and urgent requirement to address the needs of the people in our community who are poorly served by the current systems of cancer care and control, and to change those systems,” said Professor Jennifer Philip, Co-Chair of the VCCC Alliance Health Equity Steering Group. “Transformation of organisational culture to embed principles of equity is a necessary part of health system reform. An essential part of this change is growing a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community it serves.”
The Cancer Equity Framework was conceptualised as a ‘call to action’ to bring VCCC Alliance leaders, educators, researchers and health practitioners together with consumers and community, to make health equity a shared vision.
The Framework acts as a guide for the VCCC Alliance to work together with its members and the broader sector to co-design activities and resources to support the sector to embed a culture of equity.
The Cancer Equity Framework was developed following a literature review and stakeholder interviews with representatives from health services including executives, policy and strategy managers, diversity and inclusion managers, and clinicians.
The VCCC Alliance’s Equity Advisory Group and consultation with members of the VCCC Alliance Consumers Network were integral in developing the Framework over multiple iterations.
The Framework proposes culture change as a continuous cycle of action where leaders, the cancer workforce (including healthcare, research and educational organisations), consumers and community work together to understand and take action to embed a culture of equity across the Victorian cancer care sector. The Framework calls for change across three areas of the cancer control system - clinical care, research, and education and training.
The VCCC Alliance will develop specific tools and resources to support health services and the research workforce to strengthen their structure, processes, and programs to advance health equity.
The alliance will also enhance opportunities for collaborations to address inequity across its members more broadly and embed health equity into alliance research and education programs and activities.
Join the Monday Lunch Live webinar on 9 September for the launch of the Cancer Equity Framework.
