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Sharing of Patient Pathway: Children and Youth – Complex Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges

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Open to Interior Region, Patient partners in and around the city of Kamloops

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Are you interested in sharing your experiences in accessing services for youth with complex mental health challenges that may or may not include challenges with substance use? Your input can help future youth and family members navigate the services they require and improve the patient experience in your community.

Open to: Patient partners in and around the city of Kamloops

Lead Organization or Department

Thompson Local Action Team for Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use

Aim

The aim of this initiative is to improve the access to and patient experience of appropriate Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use services for complex mental health challenges (may or may not include substance use). Youth (6 -26 years) and/or family members will be invited to participate in an interview about their experience of navigating these services. In addition, these same participants will be invited to take part in a working group that will generate and test ideas for improvement.  

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement (www.iap2.org). The promise to you is that the research partner will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

Eligibility

This engagement is ideal for patient partners who:
  • Have experience navigating Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use services in Kamloops and surrounding area within the past 3 years. This may include services provided: - by schools - online - by family practitioner (physician or nurse practitioner) - through Interior Health - through Ministry of Children and Family Development
  • Are a youth, family member or care provider of a youth who is directly impacted.
  • Are comfortable telling their story.
  • Have experience working with groups (if the patient partner chooses to participate in the working group).
If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and volunteer agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact the engagement leader directly.

Logistics

  • Vacancies: 3
  • Format: 1:1 in-person or phone Interviews to take place prior to September 12. Working Group to commence after September 12 and could be intermittent, ongoing until December, 2017.

Reimbursement

Pre-approved expenses will be reimbursed according to Thompson Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Local Action Team Guidelines. In addition, food and beverages will be provided if in-person participation must occur during a mealtime.

Background

The Thompson Local Action Team is part of a larger provincial collaborative to improve mental health and substance use services across the province. Although the collaborative officially came to an end in March and this Local Action Team has successfully implemented many improvements, it was identified that there was still work to do in relation to services provided for youth and families facing complex mental health and substance use challenges. The overarching goal of the work conducted by the Local Action Team is to improve the experience/outcomes of children/youth (ages 6 to 26) and their families in navigating current mental health and substance use (MHSU) services. The Local Action Team is made up of concerned and passionate members of the community and various services agencies in Kamloops. In terms of this specific initiative, participants from various organizations in Kamloops (family practitioners, paediatricians, psychiatrists, Interior Health and Ministry of Children and Family Development clinicians, and clinicians or services providers from other community organizations including indigenous organizations) will also be directly or indirectly involved. Potential risk might include contact with a service provider or clinician that the youth or family member has been in contact with before (this contact could be associated with a negative or traumatic experience). Mitigation of such a risk could be achieved by providing the participant with a list of potential Working Group/Local Action Team participating organizations ahead of time. Another potential risk could be loss of anonymity if choosing to participate in the Working Group or the Local Action Team in general. Again, mitigation could be achieved as suggested above. As well, 1:1 interviews will take place with a project lead who will remain objective and has no previous history in the area of mental health and substance use. Information provided as part of the interview will be used to identify current state process, issues and barriers. No names are required as part of this process.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jacquelyne Foidart
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Thompson Cariboo
250.879.1077
jfoidart@bcpsqc.ca

 

From Our Community

Laura Klein

Clinical Practice Consultant in Fraser Health

Laura Klein

Seeking the patient perspective doesn’t have to be complicated; it simply entails a commitment to ask and listen. Patient advisors not only bring a valuable perspective but also share original ideas and unique skills. Including the patient and family perspective changes the conversation and aligns the team’s focus towards common goals.