In Canada and British Columbia, youth (ages 12-24) struggle to find health care for mental health and substance use concerns, like depression, vaping, and drinking.
In the last ten years, British Columbia has tried to improve access to care for mental health and substance use by launching integrated youth services. These bring together health and social services and providers, such as doctors, nurses, and counselors, that a youth might need in one place. While this might be a promising way to help youth, we do not currently have a lot of research about these services.
The goal of my research is to answer important questions about what impacts these new services are having on youth, communities, and the health care system and how we can improve these services. I will talk to youth, families/caregivers, service providers, and decision makers to hear more about their experiences with these services. I will also compare information, like the number of hospital visits, between youth who access the services and youth who do not access the services. I will work closely with youth, families, service providers, and decision makers so that my research answers the questions that are most important to them.
Led by Dr. Christine Mulligan, this project will take place at Foundry, an integrated youth service initiative (IYS) providing comprehensive support to youth across BC. IYS can improve youth mental health and substance use outcomes, issues afflicting 1 in 5 Canadian youth. Foundry operates virtually and in physical centres in BC, supporting youth through 5 service streams: physical and mental health, substance use, peer support and social services. Foundry is implementing a Learning Health System (LHS), a care model where data and learnings are used in real-time for continuous improvement and strong, equitable impact. This project is supported by a partnership between Foundry and the University of British Columbia, and jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Michael Smith Health Research BC, as part of the CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellowship program. This research program will evaluate and enhance feedback loops between research, policy, and practice (iKT), focusing on building capacity for youth- driven inputs into Foundry research. The fellow will engage with Foundry knowledge users/creators to assess current iKT feedback loops at Foundry, highlighting areas for improvement, and finding solutions. This project will create a Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to give input into Foundry research, such as by co-developing (i.e., with Foundry youth) a plan to identify young people’s needs and co-designing new ways to track youth-reported outcomes. The YAC will co-develop a youth-centered iKT plan, and results will feed into the iKT feedback loops improved in this project and into the LHS, through arts-based methods, talking circles, and other publications. Importantly, the project’s outputs (iKT feedback loops and capacity for youth input) are sustainable and will develop beyond this program. This research program has immense potential for lasting impact on Foundry, and ultimately, the well-being of BC youth.
