Guidance on Promoting Mental Health of Black Youth in Canada

Description

*This session will be live interpreted from English to French

The prevalence and incidence of mental illnesses have increased among youth. Additionally, disparities in mental health outcomes among Black youth, compared to other ethnic groups, have been well documented. In this session, we will present a study that aimed to develop a guidance document with recommendations for the delivery of mental health services for Black youth in Canada, focusing on community, primary care, and educational settings. We used a participatory research approach consisting of five phases: 1) building an advisory committee, 2) conducting a scoping review, 3) drafting a guidance document, 4) conducting focus groups with Black youth, and 5) incorporating Black youth’s perspectives into the guidance document. We will present the resulting guidance document, which includes 61 recommendations across four stages of mental health service delivery: the Pre-encounter and General stage (16 recommendations), the Assessment and Diagnosis stage (19 recommendations), the Intervention stage (21 recommendations), and the Evaluation stage (5 recommendations). We believe these recommendations offer consistent guidance for equitable mental healthcare and represent a meaningful step toward broader social equity and inclusion.

To access this session live, go to DIVERT Mental Health’s Learning Management Platform. Login credentials are required. To obtain login credentials, register with DIVERT Mental Health as an Associate Fellow. If you have credentials but have forgotten your password, click here to reset your password. If you require further assistance to access this event, please email divert@yorku.ca

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  Dr. Bukola Salami, RN, BScN, MN, PhD, FCAN, FAAN
  Professor Bukola Salami is a Full Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples’ Health in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She also holds a cross-appointment with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. Professor Salami’s internationally recognized research program focuses on the policies and practices that shape migrant health and the health of Black communities. She has contributed to more than 100 funded research projects, with a cumulative value exceeding $250 million. She is the founder and lead of the African Child and Youth Migration Network—an international collaboration of 42 scholars across four continents—and co-led the development of the Institute for Intersectional Studies at the University of Alberta. In 2020, she established the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program, a pioneering initiative that supports the development of young Black leaders. Her research on Black youth mental health directly informed the creation of the first mental health clinic tailored for Black Canadians in Western Canada. Professor Salami is a trusted voice in public policy. She has presented her research to decision-makers, including the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, and her work has led to tangible policy changes that advance the well-being of Black communities in Canada. She currently serves as Vice President of the Canadian Nurses Association and is a member of the Governing Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She also contributes her expertise as a board member of the CIHR Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health; the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Advisory Committee on Science; and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Global Health to the Government of Canada.
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  Dr. Ruth Martínez-Vega (MSc, MD, PhD)
  Ruth Martínez-Vega, who holds a PhD in Public Health, a Master of Science in Epidemiology, and a Medical Degree, is a Research Associate in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She is also a professor at the School of Medicine at the Universidad de Santander in Colombia. She has been involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of clinical and epidemiological research projects. She has authored 78 peer-reviewed research publications and has mentored 34 undergraduate and postgraduate students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served on advisory committees for the Mayor’s Office of Bucaramanga and the Governor’s Office of Santander in Colombia, contributing to public health decision-making during the crisis. Over the past 18 months, she has worked on research projects focusing on Black youth mental health and healthcare access for Black and racialized populations in Canada, as part of Professor Bukola Salami’s research team.
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  Victoria Adeola Fajenyo
  Victoria Adeola Fajenyo is a PhD student in Public Health at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, where her doctoral research focuses on improving the mental health of Black and racialized children and youth in Canada through community-based interventions. With an MPH from Manchester Metropolitan University and professional experience across Canada, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria, she specializes in youth mental health, vaccine acceptance, participatory action research, and policy development, while actively serving as a Research Coordinator and Assistant, and mentoring Black youth in health equity initiatives.
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  Noah Boakye-Yiadom
  Noah Boakye-Yiadom is a mental health promotion facilitator and PhD student at the University of Calgary, specializing in community-based mental health promotion and culturally responsive interventions for Canada's African, Black, and Caribbean communities. He brings over 15 years of community-engaged practice and currently leads the PHAC-funded MHFA in Diaspora Canada project, advancing decolonial and Africentric approaches to mental health promotion.