By Marlies Casteleijn MSc (candidate)

Engaging youth and fostering their participation is increasingly recognized as an important means in effectively improving their health and wellbeing. Empowerment of youth is crucial, especially for underserved youth. People working in health and social services are very important partners to support youth in gaining leadership and life skills contributing to their health and wellbeing, as well as the health of their families and communities.

Health literacy is found to be an important life skill as it is seen as a crucial aspect in determining and having control over one’s health. It is recognized as being critical to empowered, active and informed participation in health and healthcare. Even though health literacy is recognized as being important to empower people, research has largely focused on adults. There are many questions we still do not know about youth and health literacy. For instance, youth’s strengths and assets in addressing risks and protective factors have insufficiently been recognized, and youth’s perspectives on what constitutes health and what factors influence health are relatively unknown.

To date, health literacy has been largely viewed through an individual, healthcare lens, in which broader factors affecting health seem to be ignored. These social factors are important to consider if we view health in an inclusive, holistic way. Bridge for Health recognizes the importance of such a holistic approach to health and encourages upstream thinking.

Building on holistic health literacy and upstream thinking, in 2014 Bridge for Health developed Moving Upstream: Youth Engagement Photovoice Research Project. The project was a collaborative endeavour with community partners RedFox Healthy Living Society, Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver and United Way Lower Mainland to support youth in gaining leadership and life skills contributing to their health and wellbeing. The project was carried out through the existing Youth Warrior Program, aimed to enable youth (aged 15-18 years old) to have more control over their health and wellbeing, as well as that of their communities and families.

Through this Photovoice project, the youth were asked to capture elements/factors presenting their life which are affecting their health and wellbeing, and that of their families and communities. The photographs taken by the youth were presented on December 17th, 2014.

Bridge for Health Project investigated prevailing needs and concerns of youth, so that future initiatives can incorporate this knowledge in the future development of health literacy tools targeted at youth. These tools can support youth in understanding the broader factors in life influencing their health and wellbeing, and thus contribute to increased holistic health literacy levels.

The project aimed to foster holistic health literacy levels of youth by increasing their critical consciousness through participation in the program, as well as learning about the social factors affecting their health and wellbeing.

If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to marlies@bridgeforhealth.org

Marlies Casteleijn MSc

By Patsy Beattie-Huggan | President and Principal Consultant, The Quaich Inc.

The moment I met Paola Ardiles at a Networking Lunch in Vancouver on April 10, 2014 I had a sense of connection abounding with synergy. The Bridge for Health website outlined a philosophy and beliefs so congruent with my own that I thought “I could have written this”. This immediate connection set the stage for a desire to work together – and an invitation to write this blog. So here I am, realizing that this introduction was yet one more amazing chapter on the journey of developing and working with the Circle of Health.

The Circle of Health is a health promotion framework and values based planning tool that is hand-held, moveable, shaped by theory and context, and built through a consultative process incorporating principles of adult education, community development and qualitative research that drew on right and left brain thinking. Dr. Terry Mitchell has said that the theoretical strength of the Circle of Health is that the process of its development models the way in which it is applied. Launched in 1996, the Circle of Health still resonates with learners and practitioners today – and it is hard to imagine that a framework developed to meet local needs on Prince Edward Island, Canada is now translated into five languages and has travelled to countries all over the world, engaging academics, policy makers and community members!

The journey began in 1995, when I was in the role of Director Community Development for the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Health and Community Services Agency. At the time, I was working with regional health authorities and community groups to embrace a health promotion philosophy as the foundation for programs and system change – in a newly reformed health system that had embraced justice, housing, hospitals, social services and public health. During that same year, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) was conducting consultations on the future of health promotion in Canada. Building on the results of that consultation, the PEI Health and Community Services System, Women’s Network, Canadian Health Promotion Network Atlantic, CPHA NB-PEI shared mailing lists, resources and time and initiated a two day process to adopt a health promotion framework for PEI. Since it was a follow-up to their consultation, CPHA national made a funding contribution to what was to be the first day of the development of the Circle of Health©. Irv Rootman and Larry Hershfield from the Centre for Health Promotion Research at the University of Toronto and Tariq Bhatti, Health Canada brought their expertise to this process. The consultation process was replicated and validated in Northern Ireland by an Irish colleague, Leslie Boydell who participated in the PEI process. All assisted with the validation, evaluation and dissemination that followed. In reflection, we were pioneers in the movement now called social innovation.

As I began to observe the process of discovery and engagement that took place each time people used the Circle of Health, the value of the tool became more evident. Increasingly, it became clear to me that there was a need for similar tools that could be used by the system and community together to achieve social good. In 1998, I founded The Quaich Inc., a health company focused on consulting and marketing of health innovations. Through gathering the stories of how the Circle of Health has been applied in engaging communities to take action on social and health issues, colleagues and I have developed a growing body of knowledge which we share through our website at www.circleofhealth.net , development of educational products, and through our online and in person workshops.

This year, the Circle of Health Online Workshop Series will run throughout November and we hope you will join us. The workshops are a great way to refresh your knowledge about health promotion, and an opportunity to develop skills in partnership development, planning, education and facilitation. As an affiliate to Bridge for Health, you are eligible for a 15% discount. There are group rates for others in your organization who may want to join you.

For more information, visit www.thequaich.pe.ca/workshops.asp or contact me directly by email at patsy@thequaich.pe.ca or phone at 1-800-898-1066. If possible, please circulate information about the online workshops to others in your networks.

If you are already using the Circle of Health, I would really like to hear from you to learn how you are using the Circle of Health – the successes and the challenges. If you would like to receive our regular newsletters, please click here: http://fluidsurveys.com/s/request-for-consent/

I look forward to continuing our work with Bridge for Health. Working together for social good, we can do great things!

Patsy Beattie-Huggan | President and Principal Consultant, The Quaich Inc.

902-894-3399 | 902-626-3221 (Fax)

By: Vancouver Coastal Health, Community Engagement

The “tiny but mighty” Community Engagement team at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) works to enhance patient and public participation in health service planning and decision-making, so that members of the public have a ‘voice’ in the services and policies that affect their lives, and the lives of their loved ones.

One of the main ways that we do this is by supporting a group of dedicated volunteers known as the Community Engagement Advisory Network. We fondly call them the “CEAN” (pronounced KEEN).

The CEAN was established in July of 2009 and provides VCH departments and senior leadership with a network of public members who possess diverse skills, have been oriented to VCH, and represents a cross section of ages, genders, ethnicities, cultures and socio-political backgrounds. This level of readiness allows CEAN members to effectively collaborate with VCH staff in planning together for improvements to the quality and delivery of health care services. CEAN members provide a unique opportunity for VCH to build relationships with members of the public who are interested and motivated to engage for the purpose of improving healthcare. They have a vested interest in improving the system and in establishing mechanisms for continual, sustainable improvement.

We engage with CEAN in a variety of ways, which can range from reviewing a patient brochure and testing its user-friendliness, to sitting on Regional Advisory Committees with the health authority’s senior leadership. CEAN members are communicated with on a weekly basis, and brought together at various times throughout the year to provide them with the opportunity to learn, network, connect with members of VCH Leadership and to provide their feedback on initiatives and projects being implemented within VCH. The input that CEAN provides is incredibly valuable, and many project leads have shared how valuable it is to tap into the patient/family/public perspective in their planning in order to establish priorities and set the direction for their work.

“One of the key contributions is that they readily provide their input from a ‘consumer’ or patient perspective – and it is this feedback that often helps direct the conversation i.e. moving from focusing on what matters to a clinician to what matters to a patient and family/caregiver.” 

 -JoAnne Douglas, Project Manager Integrated Primary & Community Care, Vancouver Coastal Health

CEAN is working hard to add the voice of the patient/family/public member into our health care system. And more and more staff within the health authority are seeking out that voice.

The “tiny but mighty” Community Engagement team has noticed a welcome increase in requests for public participation! We are working hand in hand with CEAN to meet all the requests There are now approx. 30 members of CEAN sitting on various Advisory Committees within VCH. Whatever type and level of involvement CEAN members engage in, their ultimate goal is to improve healthcare and make services more accessible in their communities.

Next month, CEAN will celebrate its 5 year anniversary and the number of CEAN members has recently grown to 100! The Community Engagement Team is enjoying all the different ways that patient engagement is growing at Vancouver Coastal Health.

If you’d like to share your voice at VCH and become a CEAN member, click here to apply, or contact us at ce@vch.ca

By Shannon Turner

Upheavals of the kind that produce massive shifts in public policy like women’s suffrage or the end of Apartheid in South Africa are typically met with state coercion and armed opposition. Indian independence from the United Kingdom happened largely as the result of legislative and social movements possessing a clear moral imperative. The expression of that imperative was crystallized by leadership that modeled sacrifice and honesty over a period of prolonged resistance to oppressive force.

In cases where armed resistance was endorsed by these activists, their targets were institutional. They sought to disrupt daily activity, rather than harm people. In each case, in spite of prolonged pressure by the state, an inequality was addressed and legislated out of practice.

The leadership that helps to catalyze these social movements stand today as iconic figures of spiritual and moral strength. Nelson Mandela( SA), Mahatma Ghandi, (India) Martin Luther King, Jr.(USA), Emmeline Pankhurst (UK)and Nellie McClung (Canada) have shaped the path of human progress. Their message of non violence, found in so many spiritual traditions, serves as a cornerstone for their work.

Deeply held prejudice can only fall under the hammer of justice when we expose it to widespread public scrutiny and reflection. Choosing a path of peaceful resistance and bearing witness to the suffering of others, challenges society to consider their entitlements and context.   On a profound and personal level, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., the assertion of personhood by McClung and her suffragette sisters, the non-violent resistance of Mahatma Ghandi, lead us to remember that the rights and dignity we enjoy, are conditions paid for by lives of great sacrifice, moral fortitude and a sustained peaceful effort.

Prevention’s of Violence Canada Prevention de la Violence Canada www.povc.ca has launched a national social media campaign to ensure that World Health Organization Violence Prevention recommendations are implemented in Canada. We are calling on Canadians to sign a Violence Prevention Charter and to make personal and organizational commitments to violence prevention. Signing the Charter is part of a healthy public policy process. Violence is preventable. Join Bridge for Health and support POVC to make Canada Violence Free.  Join Prevention of Violence Canada on Facebook or visit the website to make sure you get the message out.   #signthecharter #vpcharter,

 By Deborah Kinvig, Executive Coach

Life as we all know can be a juggling act. If promoting our health is indeed about controlling the things in our life that impact our lives, then controlling our work environment seems critical. There are a number of initiatives around the world creating healthier workplaces with better policies and organizational practices to support employees. However, no matter where we live, or what career we have chosen, we recognize that many things at work that are going to be outside of our control.

Some of us are privileged with the possibility of reflecting and taking a personal inventory on just how we feel about where we work and what we do for a living. The old adage is that if you do what is your passion success will follow. It seems these days that finding that mix of passion and making a living is more difficult to find, and sometimes taking a job for the pay check can mean delaying doing what we really want to do because after all the rent has to be payed!

This can make us feel stuck us in a rut, like things are not going to change or move forward. See if any of these examples apply to you of how it feels when you are stuck ….

• You can only see one way forward and it’s not a way you want to take
• You have too many options and are unable to make a choice
• You are doing what you are told to do and not what needs to be done
• You know things are not working and are too close to the problem
• You are doing it all on your own and it is wearing you out
• You are waiting to be rescued and your superhero isn’t turning up
• You are still in the race, but have secretly given up
• You don’t know what to do to make things better
• You are in the wrong race, running flat out
• You have big dreams and you are too afraid to make them reality
• You don’t have any dreams, or the dreams you have had died and you are on automatic pilot.

If any of these feelings of being stuck relate to you here are some steps you can take today to move yourself forward and get your working life mojo back.

1. Take personal responsibility for where you are in your work life career and the current situation (it is what it is).
2. Determine what it is specifically that is causing you to become burnt out, dis-engaged and unhappy in your workplace.
3. Take some time to reflect on what your part in this may be. What are the actions and behaviors you engage in that may be contagious and effecting your work mates?
4. What are the implications on each area of your life of the possibilities for something new?
5. Make some short term, medium term and long-term goals around what you really want to do with your work life.
6. Find a trusted friend or a Coach to discuss and hammer out some action steps that will move you forward when you are feeling stuck.
7. Remain hopeful, life pushes us forward and change is inevitable. The work situation that is poor now, may change in just a few months.

And finally, if you notice your mental health is suffering because of your work environment, for example if you are relying on alcohol to ease the stress, or you are not doing the normal things you enjoy; if your sleep is increasingly poor, or you are becoming anxious about work and worrying too much outside of work hours about your job – seek care from your health care provider to discuss.

Deborah Kinvig, Executive Coach & Consultant,

Founder, ‘The Red Rata Group’

Coaching and Consulting Collaborative

www.theredratagroup.com

Written by: Liza Lindgren outreach@theatreforliving.com

Theatre for Living (formerly known as Headlines Theatre) is excited to present the remounting and touring of the interactive play maladjusted, created and performed by mental health caregivers and clients, on how we can contribute to more human-centered care within the mental health system.

For some people, being open about their struggles with mental health issues can be complicated by their experience of stigmatization. Stigma and the fear of stigmatization stop people from seeking help. The stigmatization issue is itself often invisible, living underneath our conversations and professional and personal relationships. A step towards dealing with the issue, therefore, is to make stigma visible.

There is good work being done on stigmatization issues in the public realm – in families, the streets, schools. A hidden and generally ignored aspect of this issue is how the health care system itself is entrenched in beliefs, values and policies that stigmatize people. This applies not only to people who are struggling with mental health, but also to the staff that care for these individuals. This invisible layer makes effective care much more difficult.

The interactive Forum Theatre process addresses people’s behaviour and human interactions at core levels, deepening the ability of the audience members and communities in finding solutions within themselves.

Theatre for Living was inspired to create the initial production of maladjusted because of our long and ongoing relationships inside the health sector in Vancouver. We were encountering patients and caregivers (counselors, doctors, nurses, administrators) who were struggling inside the system.

In the original production a “Community Scribe” studied and collated the ideas from the interactive events and created a powerful “community action report” that contains policy suggestions for local agencies and Government. We hope to replicate this process in each community during the tour, so that policy recommendations that are the voice of people living the issues can be heard, notated and hopefully acted upon by local agencies.

What now?

We’re looking for local community partners across BC and Alberta, to help us bring this show and important community dialogue to your community!

Get in touch!

We’d love to hear from you! Please contact Theatre for Living’s (Headlines Theatre) Outreach Coordinator Liza Lindgren at outreach@theatreforliving.com or call our office at 604.871.0508 to learn more about the project and how you can get involved!

by Farah M Shroff, PhD

I have a longstanding interest in mental well-being research. Examining individual well-being, I have carried out research on yoga, ayurveda, forest ‘bathing’ and other mind-body approaches to thriving on a mental level. From a social perspective I have carried out research that examines the importance of social safety nets, community building and relationship building on mental health. My research and experiences constantly remind me that we still live in a society where mental health imbalances are stigmatized and shortchanged. To make matters worse, our medical system continues to provide minimal funding to mental health services, despite robust evidence that mental health concerns have massive impacts on our families, workplaces, prisons, schools and other institutions.

One of my passions is global health. On trips to many parts of the Global South I have been struck by the lessons that we can learn from people who priorize relationships over materialism. (This is not to romanticize those who live in poverty or to support hierarchies that systematically marginalize some people.) My observations about people’s approach to life in many parts of the Global South where I have worked—Calabar Nigeria, Ayoja Mexico, Bangkok Thailand, San Juan La Laguna Guatemala and elsewhere—have led me to believe that families and communities are stronger in the South than in the North. Strong emotional and social bonds between people facilitate mental well-being.

When I lived in Nigeria, I was amazed to hear my friends in a village talking about a man whom they called ‘mad’ with such kind words and warmth. They told me that he was trying to build a bridge next to the one that construction workers were putting up in the village. They chuckled as they told the story about his attempts. Later on, he appeared at their house. The family greeted him kindly and he joined in on the evening meal and slept in the house that night. Very little stigma was attached to his mental health status. He was a welcome member of the village community. Much of my work in the area of indigenous knowledge thus centres on the lessons that the North has to learn from the South.

On April 8 I will be delivering a webinar about a study that I carried out: Seeking Mental Well-Being: a story of working class women in Northern England. I invite you to join me!

https://knowledgex.camh.net/researchers/areas/sami/webinars/current/Pages/04082014.aspx

Farah Shroff, Ph.D., teaches in the Department of Family Practice and the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine; her research emphasizes visioning and developing Health for All. A researcher and educator she focuses on the areas of holistic health and spirituality, community development, and social justice, as well as health services policy research. As a consultant, Dr. Shroff has served many public and private clients; she drafted the Government of Nunavut’s Public Health Plan, evaluated the Dr Peter AIDS Centre, facilitated research workshops for a group of women with severe mental illnesses and more. She has also worked for governments in Canada and non-governmental organizations such as the Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association in Vancouver.
Dr Shroff is also a teacher of yoga, dance, self defence and other movement practices. She enjoys walking and running in Vancouver’s forests and beaches as well as traveling with her family.

Many organizations around the world like VicHealth in Australia have done a great deal of research to increase our awareness about the important links between the arts and our health and well-being. In Canada, the Arts Health Network’s primary purpose is to increase public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the contributions of arts-based initiatives to individual and community health, as well as to Canada’s public health care system.

We know that access to the arts helps people connect socially and participate in their community’s cultural life. The role of the arts in exploring and communicating social concerns, giving voice to hidden issues and allowing self-expression is also a major contributor to health. (VicHealth)

Promoting health & wellbeing is not just about things you can do as an individual. Creating health & wellbeing is also about sharing ourselves, building community and tapping into our creativity.

Join us for the 1st annual Bridge for Health Art Show featuring work of architect, painter and musician Jack McDonald, born and raised in Kitsilano and current resident of East Vancouver, Canada.

More about Jack

Sunday April 6, 2014, 4-7pm. #sharingourselves
Location: Havana Restaurant 1212 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC.

If you are interested in learning more about health and arts, we encourage to visit Global Alliance for Arts & Health hosting Enhancing Lives Through Arts & Health: 25th Anniversary Conference & Celebration, will take place April 9-12, 2014 in Houston, TX. The conference, hosted by Texas Children’s Hospital, will provide a forum for hundreds of leaders in arts and health, including arts directors, healthcare providers, artists, therapists, architects, designers, administrators, educators, and researchers – bringing people together to present and discuss cutting-edge arts and health topics and exciting developments from around the world!