Ending Stigma Starts With You – Research Project
Queen West was one of the collaborating partners in this multi-phase five year participatory research project led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Office of Transformative Global Health (OTGH). This study engaged Queen West staff and clients in a variety of activities (such as quantitative research, innovative contact-based education and recovery-based arts).
The purpose of this initiative was to design and develop a tailored capacity-building intervention that addressed root causes and mitigated impact of mental health and substance use stigma and discrimination among primary health care providers; and to do so in full partnership with Community and Primary Health Care Centres. The overall objective was to develop and implement an anti-stigma/anti-discrimination and pro-recovery intervention targeting providers who serve people with mental illness and substance use issues at CHCs in Ontario.
This anti-stigma initiative is the result of a longstanding collaboration involving many community partners and internationally recognized experts. Persons with lived experiences also made critical contributions to the initiative’s success. Opening Minds – an initiative of the Mental Health Commission of Canada – provided essential support for this action research project. The initiative serves as the foundation for future research into alternative anti-stigma interventions and processes that are relevant for healthcare settings.