Each stage of our initiative was linked by knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) activities. Through these activities, regional and national stakeholder groups were engaged in dialogue regarding the goals of the initiative, as well as the process by which these goals would be achieved. In addition, communications activities are being undertaken to support future implementation of the project deliverables.
CEQM maintained stakeholder relationships via the development of a regional outreach plan using local opinion leaders as knowledge brokers for the project:
Educate, inform, and share knowledge with stakeholders regarding primary mental health care and the development of quality measures through consensus processes
The initiative was complex in structure and specialized to primary mental health care
CEQM always sought to create its core products, such as quality measures, based on a distillation of current best practices and activities of primary health care initiatives across Canada. This was made possible through forging links with “sister” PHCTF projects, and major national research institutes (as summarized below) that have been participating in primary health care and mental health reform activities. It also included links to national initiatives such as Senator Kirby’s national consultation process regarding mental health care.
Our use of KTE and consensus building between diverse groups of stakeholders helped maintain a dialogue over a three year span which in turn helped improve the project. From this dialogue we also learned how the project could be implemented locally and we were able to assume a “knowledge broker” role, sharing knowledge about projects in primary health care from coast to coast. These dissemination activities should increase uptake of the final results of the initiative across Canada. If this knowledge exchange process continues to be supported, it should allow for an enhanced degree of inter-regional collaboration on future health system reform.
Our dissemination activities made a concerted effort to include consumer/people living with mental illness/ user perspectives. We had a high rate of participation from these stakeholders in our surveys and focus groups. Amongst these groups, our emphasis on primary mental health care was seen as both unique and very much needed. We heard that stakeholders appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the shape of the research and were interested in seeing our findings used.
At the regional level, KTE sessions occurred in a variety of formats such as:
At the National level, an overview of the project and results from the first survey were presented in a series of KTE events across Canada with multi-stakeholder participants. These sessions provided an overview of the project, opportunities for discussion and dialogue (including capturing of stakeholder feedback) and distribution of communication collateral (project brochures).
We sought a commitment from individuals in national and regional KTE forums regarding participation in a national PMHC measurement KTE Network. To date, approximately 270 individuals with representation from every province and territory have agreed to participate. This potential network would be a first step in fostering continued pan-Canadian collaboration regarding implementation of PMHC quality measures.
Summary of National KTE events:
September 24, 2004 | The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto, ON | |
September 24, 2004 | Ontario Ministry of Health, ON | |
November 22, 2004 | The Federal/Provincial/Territorial Mental Health Advisory Network in Toronto, ON | |
March 17, 2005 | Health Quality Council of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK | |
March 23-24, 2005 | Key Regional Stakeholders in Quebec City and Montreal, PQ | |
March 23-24, 2005 | Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Mental Health Surveillance Workshops in Ottawa, ON | |
April 6-7, 2005 | Health Canada presentations, including PHAC, PHCTF, and FNIHB in Ottawa, ON | |
April 11-12, 2005 | The Canadian Health Service Research Foundation (CHSRF) National Workshop on Primary Health Care in Vancouver, BC | |
May 18-19, 2005 | Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Conference on Primary Health Care Indicators in Toronto, ON | |
June 10-13, 2005 | 6th Annual Shared Care Conference in Ottawa, ON | |
June 15, 2005 | Manitoba Centre for Health Policy in Winnipeg, MN | |
September 18, 2005 | Presentation of the project’s Stage 2 best practices at the International Conferences on the Scientific Basis of Health Services (ICSBHS) in Montreal, PQ | |
December 7, 2005 | National KTE Event, Toronto, ON | |
February 2006 | Research work on facilitators and barriers to implementing quality measurement in primary mental health care presented at the Primary Care Conference held in Calgary, AB. | |
May 1, 2006 | Preliminary Final Results presented at Shared Care Conference, Calgary, AB. | |
September 1, 2006 | KTE events, Toronto ON and other ON sites, including Sudbury and Peterbourough | |
September 13, 2006 | Québec KTE event with 43 stakeholders | |
September 2006 | Final Results and launch of Quality Measures Database presented at the Primary Health Care Symposium, CHSRF, Vancouver, BC. |
From April 2004 to March 2005, a total of 828 stakeholders participated in dialogue about the initiative. The table below outlines the total number of stakeholders targeted per participating region during 2004/05.
Renée Sarojini Saklikar
National Knowledge Transfer Advisor
CARMHA
Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health & Addiction
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
renees@interchange.ubc.ca
Carol Adair Denise Aubé Donald Addington Ellen Anderson Clay Barber June Bergman Ulrieke Birner Monique Carriere John Conway Alex Craciunescu |
Martha Donnelley Jennifer Hermann David Haslam Terry Isomura Tania Kyle Alain Lesage Elizabeth Lin Eric MacNaughton Leann Meronek Mike Pennock |
Léo-Roch Poirier Radha Puri Mélanie St-Onge Elizabeth Tovey Ellisa Wee Roger Wheeler Natasha Zaslavska |
v5 Sep 27, 2006