Citizenship and Consumerism in Health Care: A Critique of Citizens' Juries

This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of citizens' juries as a model for public involvement in health care. It does so through observation of two citizens' juries run by the same Health Authority, during the summer of 1996. The framework used to evaluate the juries is that provided by IPPR in their 1997 Report, namely focusing on the themes of information, time, scrutiny, deliberation, independence and authority. Citizens' juries are compared and contrasted with other models for public involvement and linked with the broader debate on citizenship theory and practice.