Table 1 Structure of the questionnaire and definition of terms

Background information

• Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent?

• Are you involved in Indigenous-specific priority setting within your organisation?

Part I A

Current process of setting priorities and allocation of resources

• What is considered to be the key objectives of this organisation?

• What sources of information are used in determining short-term and long-term priorities?

• Once priorities are defined, how are decisions made to allocate resources across organisations/programs?

• How is the benefit from programs/interventions viewed in your organisation?

• On what basis are decisions made in resource allocation and service/program activity?

Part I B

Assessment of the current priority setting process

• In your opinion, how does the process of priority setting perform?

• What are the specific strengths of the current process?

• What are the challenges of the current approach?

Part I

Improving the process of priority setting

• How could the current process of setting priorities be improved?

• Do you think there is enough transparency/explicitness built in it?

• Do you think the use of economic principles and/or evidence from economic evaluation could improve the process of priority setting?

Definition of terms:

Cultural Security

Involves a commitment that the construct and provision of services offered by the health system will not compromise the legitimate cultural rights, views, values and expectations of Aboriginal people. It is the recognition, appreciation of, and the response to the impact of cultural diversity on the utilisation and provision of effective services to Aboriginal people.

Effectiveness

The extent to which a service ‘works’ and achieves its objectives in real life.

Efficiency

A relationship between resource use and outcomes. When a service is deemed ‘inefficient’, it implies that greater outcomes could be achieved with the same resources or that the same outcomes could be achieved with fewer resources.

Equity

Equity relates to fairness or social justice. It involves ethical judgements about the fairness of the distribution of health outcomes, accessibility of health services or exposure to health-threatening hazards.

Explicit approach

This is a priority setting approach in which both the decisions and the basis for the decisions by a decision-maker (i.e. data sets, findings, criteria of judgement, etc.) are clearly known and stated.

Implicit approach

This is a priority setting approach where the decisions made by a decision-maker and the reasons for those choices are not clearly stated.

Key decision-makers

Senior management (such as senior project officers) involved in setting priorities or making decisions in resource allocation.

Marginal analysis:

Marginal analysis is an economic technique that looks at the costs and outcomes of potential changes to the current mix of services provided. It focuses on incremental changes to resources, programs, cost or outcomes of a service. For example, what happens if a little less or more of an activity takes place.

Priority Setting:

Describes the process of determining what comes first on the list (in the order of importance) of activities/programs of an organisation with a given budget.

Resource allocation

Describes the process of determining how funding is distributed or divided up across programs or services.

Stakeholder involvement

The degree to which stakeholders are involved in the process of setting priorities. This may be none, a little or a lot.

Lack of resources

Where there are inadequate resources, such as funds, available to fulfil organisational processes and deliver services.

Indigenous community as a data source:

The data used for priority setting is sourced from the views or preferences of the Indigenous community, mainly as a formal process through studies or community consultations or public opinion.