Promoting Indigenous Mental Wellness and Health Equity in the Wake of COVID-19
Addressing the pressures and burnout experienced by staff providing care to Indigenous communities during COVID-19.
WHO
Indigenous healthcare workers in Ontario
WHAT
Objectives
- Enhance integrated access to care
- Develop Indigenous-specific mental health performance indicators
- Reach up to 450,084 mental health practitioners and clinical care teams within Indigenous and mainstream health settings across Ontario
HOW
- Develop multiple tools and resources for front line staff including toolkits and infographics on self care and promoting mental wellbeing in the workplace.
- Offer multiple capacity building and training initiatives to front line member staff.
- Offer cultural wellness, crafts and activities to develop relationships and connect with culture as a mental health support.
- Develop Cultural Safety Training specific to Mental Health and Wellness to support safe and appropriate care in MHW settings.
WHERE
Settings
- Clinical
Implementation sites
- Ontario
WHY
- IPHCC member sites have identified burnout and capacity issues coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, with some sites experiencing difficulties with staff retention.
In the words of the project team members
“IPHCC believes in culture as healing. We know that access and connection to culture can support our health and wellbeing and have made culture accessible to members throughout the province to support staff mental health and wellbeing.”
Key protective factors
- Culture as treatment
- Culture as healing
- Cultural safety
- Capacity building
- Resilience
Key approaches
- Culturally informed
- Strengths-based
