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| Cultivating social inclusion for people with mental health challenges within community-based recreation | |
|---|---|
| Investigator (PI): | Gallant, Karen |
| Performing Organization (PO): |
(Current): Dalhousie University, Faculty of Health, School of Health and Human Performance / (902) 494-2152 |
| Supporting Agency (SA): | Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation |
| Initial Year: | 2015 |
| Final Year: | 2018 |
| Record Source/Award ID: | NSHRF/10074 |
| Funding: | Total Award Amount: $14,992 |
| Award Type: | Grant |
| Abstract: | One in five Nova Scotians will experience mental health challenges (Nova Scotia Mental Health Services, http://novascotia.ca/dhw/mental-health/adults.asp), such as depression or anxiety, at some point in their lives. Federal and Nova Scotia mental health strategies recommend a recovery-focused approach that, in addition to symptom management, includes practices that promote community participation and social inclusion. This involves supporting people with mental health challenges to be meaningfully involved in their communities. Community-based recreation programs (such as those offered by non-profit organizations including local YMCAs or municipal recreation programs) promote participation and inclusiveness. However, people with mental health challenges often experience stigma, and may not feel welcomed. Thus, to promote recovery, there is a need to determine how community-based recreation programs and settings could be shifted to become welcoming environments that foster social inclusion for people with mental health challenges. This project aligns with NSHRF's population health research priorities focused on reducing inequities for marginalized groups, specifically, those with mental health challenges. In recovery-oriented practice, it is important to include people with mental health challenges in the planning and implementation of services. The purpose of this project is to pilot data collection methods for eliciting the input of people with mental health challenges regarding the characteristics that make community-based recreation programs in Nova Scotia welcoming and inclusive. This research will pilot data collection tools (4 focus groups of 6 people each, and 6 go-along/follow-up interviews) to explore what is working well in 4 existing programs and what could be done better. This will include 2 focus groups from recreation programs designed for people with mental health challenges and 2 focus groups from programs not specifically for people with mental health challenges. Data gathered from these research activities will be refined by sharing results at a workshop-style event attended by people living with mental health challenges, their advocates, and other stakeholders, including representatives from the recreation and mental health sectors. These participants will engage in synthesizing the data gathered from focus groups and interviews to develop user-informed principles for social inclusion, which will inform our subsequent NSHRF Establishment Grant to be submitted in March 2016. The Establishment Grant will focus on the development and evaluation of Guidelines for Social Inclusion in Community-based Recreation. Through the piloting of these data collection methods, the questions will be refined and strategies for recruitment and supporting the meaningful participation of people with mental health challenges in the research process will be strengthened to ensure success in our subsequent grant submission. These inclusive data collections methods, the synthesized principles, and, later, the resulting guidelines will facilitate development of, and changes to, community recreation environments so that they are experienced as inclusive and welcoming by people with mental health challenges, thus contributing to the recovery and social inclusion for this population in Nova Scotia. |
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| Country: | Canada |
| State: | Nova Scotia |
| Zip Code: | B3H 4R2 |
| UI: | 20161232 |
| Project Status: | Completed |