The caregivers toolkit provides resources and guidance to help people to plan and execute education and advocacy efforts with decision makers who are in a position to enact change
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) released a resource called Taking the Guidelines off the Shelf: Mobilization Toolkit, at the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference in Calgary on June 19, 2015.
Bonita Varga, a knowledge broker with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, speaks at the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference in Calgary, June 2015
The Toolkit is intended to support caregivers and organizations in order to help them understand and implement the recommendations outlined in the National Guidelines for a Comprehensive Service System to Support Family Caregivers of Adults with Mental Health Problems and Illnesses released in June 2013 by the MHCC. The Guidelines provide concrete direction to system planners, policy makers, and mental health managers in planning, implementing and evaluating a family-friendly system of care.
More than 550,000 Canadians are caregivers to people living with mental health problems or illnesses
Ed Mantler, vice president of programs and priorities for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, announces the release of the commission’s toolkit to help mobilize caregivers, in Calgary June 2015
The term family caregiver refers to all those in the circle of care, including family members and other significant people who provide unpaid support to an individual living with a mental health problem or illness.
A family-friendly system of mental health care is expected to optimally support caregivers so they can provide the best possible support to their loved ones while sustaining their own well-being.
Knowledge mobilization is about using what we know works – research, evidence, experience – to help transform the mental health system.
The mobilization toolkit
Penny MacCourt, a consultant and researcher from Nanaimo, B.C., and Ella Amir, executive director of the Montreal-based Agir contre la maladie mentale (Action on mental illness), speak about the caregiver guidelines in Calgary, June 2015
The Mobilization Toolkit is designed to help promote the Guidelines with decision-makers who have the resources or authority to implement recommendations. It will help toolkit users to:
- Introduce the Guidelines and encourage implementation
- Determine the steps to take for mobilization
- Choose appropriate activities and tools (e.g. when to use the slide deck, meeting activities, summary document)
- Understand their role as a facilitator of this process
Presentations at the Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference in Calgary in June 2015
Ed Mantler, vice president of programs and priorities for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, announced the release of the commission’s toolkit to help mobilize caregivers, at the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference in Calgary on June 19, 2015. He was joined by Penny MacCourt, a consultant and researcher from Nanaimo, B.C., and Ella Amir, executive director of the Montreal-based Agir contre la maladie mentale (Action on mental illness), who were involved in the development of the guidelines and toolkit for implementation. Bonita Varga, a knowledge broker with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, led a workshop for conference participants who were interested in learning how to use the mobilization toolkit.
People First Radio was at the conference and this week we share presentations from Ed Mantler, Penny MacCourt, Ella Amir, and Bonita Varga on our broadcast.
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audio | Mental Health Commission @MHCC_ caregivers mobilization toolkit @2015_CCMHCC http://t.co/AYAIbln008 pic.twitter.com/nbyXTETSWI
— People First Radio (@peoplefirstrad) October 2, 2015
The Mental Health Commission of Canada
Guided by Changing Directions, Changing Lives: The Mental Health Strategy for Canada, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a catalyst for improving the mental health system and changing the attitudes and behaviours of Canadians around mental health – at home, work, and school, as well as with the media and healthcare providers – from coast to coast to coast. Through its unique mandate from Health Canada, the Commission is Canada’s coordinating agent, bringing together the best and most influential minds in the mental health community. The MHCC is collaborating with hundreds of partners towards a mental health system that is inclusive, adaptable, and supports Canadians living with mental health problems and mental illnesses in their recovery journey.
www.mentalhealthcommission.ca | strategy.mentalhealthcommission.ca
More about the collaborative mental health care conference
The Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference is the leading national conference focused on research and innovations in collaborative mental health care and addictions service delivery within primary care. The program will feature presentations in five topic streams: innovation, prevention, measurement-based care, mental health initiatives in the Patient’s Medical Home (PMH) and systems integration.
A collaborative approach between mental health providers and primary care ultimately improves access and outcomes for patients and helps address efficient use of resources. The conference has the potential to impact the delivery of primary and community-based care, the design of services and the composition of health care teams, research into mental health and addictions, advocacy efforts, public policy and the overall approach to mental health and addictions within the health care system.
The 2015 conference was held in Calgary, Alberta from June 18th to 20th. The 2016 conference takes place from June 16th to 18th in Kelowna, B.C.
