The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in longer admission times for Acute Inpatient Psychiatry patients due to closure of treatment centres and difficulty in securing housing options in the community. This has made maintaining a safe social distance increasingly challenging for inpatients and staff, and has led to an increased need to relocate patients out of a higher risk hospital setting. A need for surge planning for a potential Mental Health and Addictions Crisis was identified. 

This Research Snapshot looks at the article, "COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of the Existing Literature,” which was published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry in 2020. 

Here is a sneak peek:

For those of us working in the field of social work, or for any individual care provider,  this research network supports us to engage with the “data” we generate everyday in our organizations and in turn advance analysis of our practice. 

I find the practice research principles helpful in its emphasis on utilizing what data surrounds us in our "everyday" rather than a research activity coming from afar.  A refreshing set of values that counters the siloed researcher, the siloed practitioner approach and aims to be implemented.

On Thursday, May 28, 2020, EENet and Community Care Information Management hosted the first in a three-part webinar series, "Using standardized tools to improve services in Ontario: Webinar series."

This webinar series is exploring innovative work happening across the province and new ways to use standardized tools to support client-centred care and quality improvement.

Check out this evidence-based guide developed by the Oxford Precision Psychiatry Lab. The guide on the webpage is organised around specific clinical questions: https://oxfordhealthbrc.nihr.a...tal-health-guidance/

The guide's table of contents includes:

The Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) is developing a series of national guidance documents that will address the urgent needs of people who use substances, service providers and decision makers during COVID‑19.

CRISM continues to update the documents as new information is available. For the latest updates, visit their website.

Below are their published guidance documents to date:

CHOICES is a program for youth at risk of substance abuse, criminal activity, human trafficking, anti-social behaviour, and truancy. The program is based on the use of volunteers to build relationships in congregate settings, which was no longer viable during the pandemic. Youth were identified to be increasingly vulnerable, disconnected from their social systems and facing precarious mental health.

See how agencies in Thunder Bay redesigned the CHOICES program to keep youth safe, engaged, and supported during the pandemic. 

This fact sheet developed by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation provides culturally-grounded and strength-based supports for First Nations people during COVID-19. Check it out here.

Maintaining relations and social connection is an important part of Indigenous peoples' overall wellbeing. These innovations highlight how Noojmowin Teg Healing Centre on Manitoulin Island bridges traditional and western ways of doing through innovative thinking, creativity, and resourcefulness, to maintain connection and promote healing and wellness during COVID-19.