Uses and experiences of coercive psychiatric practices in Black and Indigenous communities in Ontario and Quebec: an initial overview
The use of coercive psychiatric practices (involuntary admission and treatment, isolation, physical, mechanical or chemical restraint) is on the increase in Canada. Yet these are exceptional mechanisms, since freedom and integrity are fundamental rights. Knowledge of these practices is particularly lacking in the Canadian context, where no data is made public. Recent studies have demonstrated systemic violations of the rights of those subjected to these measures and have established that they generally target members of socioeconomically precarious groups. International research over the past fifteen years has shown that members of Black and Indigenous communities run a significantly higher risk than white people of coming into contact with psychiatry, and of being subjected to coercive psychiatric practices. While the inequalities experienced by racialized groups in access to mental health care have been established in the Canadian context, the use of coercive psychiatric practices against them has yet to be documented.
The main objective of the project is to help fill this gap by documenting the use and experiences of coercive psychiatric practices against members of Black and Indigenous communities in Ontario and Quebec. Rooted in a theoretical approach combining intersectionality and epistemic injustices, this project will be the first of its kind in Canada. It will make an important contribution to our knowledge of the colonial dimension of psychiatric practices in Canada, as well as to the systemic discrimination experienced by members of black and aboriginal communities in state systems. This project will provide a better understanding of the complexity of oppression mechanisms targeting racialized people, based on their experiences. It will be of interest to researchers currently engaged in the development of knowledge on systemic discrimination, enabling them, among other things, to make links between the different facets of the state's colonial action.
This project will make visible an issue that is currently absent from the public arena, and its results will make a major contribution to collective reflection on systemic discrimination in public services, and in healthcare. The project will contribute directly to supporting the demands of the Indigenous and Black communities for equal access to healthcare.
Principal investigator: E. Bernheim
Funding agency: CRSH
Total value : 389 139 $
Dates : 2023-28
Miromatisiwin: toward well-being in Manawan
The project and its objectives stem directly from the alarming findings of the Masko Siwin Health Services, the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan and the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission regarding the over-use of psychiatric confinement in the Manawan community. Conducted in collaboration between these partners and a research team from the University of Ottawa, this action-research project has two main objectives. The first is to document internment practices and their effects, and to propose an intersectional analysis in relation to the literature on discriminatory state practices against First Nations. The second is to support the self-determination of the Manawan community through the development of Mirowatisiwin services, i.e. culturally appropriate individual and collective wellness support services for the community.
The methodological approach recommended for this project is inspired by the AFNQL's First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Research Protocol: the design and conduct of the project will be the fruit of collaboration between the partners, the research team and an accompanying circle of Elders and Knowledge Keepers from the community. Cross-analysis of police and hospital files, interviews with community members and professionals involved in internment decisions, and observations during the provision of Mirowatisiwin services will focus on the structural, familial and individual effects of the practices, and highlight the experiential knowledge of Manawan community members.
This project will enable the development of new knowledge based on the traditional knowledge and experiences of Manawan community members in two areas: psychiatric internment practices and their effects on community members, and the impact of individual and collective wellness support services developed by and for the community. This new knowledge will be invaluable in gaining a better understanding of the extent of coercive practices against First Nations, as well as the relevance and impact of empowering communities to provide their own wellness services.
Principal investigator: E. Bernheim
Funding agency: CRSH
Total value: 362,799 $
Dates: 2022-24
Outaouais Interdisciplinary Social Law Clinic
The Outaouais Interdisciplinary Social Law Clinic (CIDSO) has been in operation since September 2021. Created in the wake of research conducted in Quebec and elsewhere, the CIDSO is both an interdisciplinary training and services project, as well as a research project.
The CIDSO is the result of an interfaculty collaboration between the Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section, the School of Social Work and the School of Nursing of the University of Ottawa, as well as the Department of Nursing of the Université du Québec en Outaouais. Since September 2023, a new collaboration has been established with the School of Rehabilitation Sciences. The clinic trains students from these four disciplines, as well as graduates from the CÉGEP de Gatineau's paralegal program. CIDSO is firmly rooted in the Gatineau community, and is developing a number of projects in collaboration with its community partners.
CIDSO, which offers individual consultations as well as follow-up, support and socio-legal accompaniment in administrative, legal and health-related matters to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, as well as collective advocacy activities, advocates an approach based on the social determinants of health.
Principal investigator: E. Bernheim
Funding agency: Chambre des notaires du Québec and ministère de la Justice du Québec
Total value: 370 000 $
Dates: 2021-24
Diabetes project
Summary. This project is based on an interdisciplinary approach involving researchers from different fields of medicine, health sciences, psychology, education and sociology, and aims to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Black communities. The FIT (for Focus, inform, implicate, and transform) project will be implemented according to an innovative model aiming to Train (students from different fields) to Inform (religious leaders and Black community members from mosques and churches) in order to Transform (the lifestyle habits of those at high risk of T2D). We will work with pastors and imams, given the importance of their voice in the communities. This is a bilingual and culturally adapted T2D prevention program (PPD), focused on the real needs of Black communities. This PPD is an evidence-based intervention to prevent the risk of developing T2D through dietary and lifestyle changes that take into account the culinary cultures of Black communities, gradual increases in physical activity and weight loss. It is innovative in its educational and preventive approach, involving a cohort of students from different disciplines to address both the social determinants of health and the modifiable risk factors for T2D.
Principal investigator. Jude Mary Cénat
Funding agency. Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Total value. $35 000 (with opportunity of $600,000 and $1,200,000 for the next two stages)
Date. 2022-2024
Vaccination project
Covid-19 Vaccination and hesitancies in Black Communities in Canada
Summary. The purpose of this project is to document the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination in Black communities in Canada. This online questionnaire contains a set of questions that will allow for a better understanding of these factors and the development of tools and programs tailored to the needs of Black communities on issues related to COVID-19 vaccination. This is a three-wave longitudinal study. By longitudinal, we mean that you were asked to complete the survey in July 2022, and we are contacting you again now to complete time 2 of the survey, and you will be contacted again for time 3 in September 2023. In this way, we will be able to observe changes over these 6 months in factors related to vaccination in the Black communities in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia and New Brunswick.
Perception of vaccine effectiveness in the general population and different ethnic communities in Canada (Parents of children 0-12 years)
Summary. This project aims to provide an understanding of the factors related to the perception of vaccine effectiveness in communities, its impact on vaccine coverage, and inform the development of public health tools and strategies that consider intersectional (e.g., race, gender and sex, religion, culture, education) and community issues. This online questionnaire contains a set of questions that will allow for a better understanding of these factors and the development of tools and programs tailored to the needs of racialized communities on issues related to COVID-19 vaccination. This longitudinal study has three evaluation periods, conducted from May 2023 to May 2025. You will be contacted to complete the first survey in May 2023, May 2024, and May 2025. In this way, we will be able to observe changes over these three years in factors related to perceived vaccinal effectiveness in racialized communities.
Principal investigator. Jude Mary Cénat
Co-Researchers: Dr. Josephine Etowa, Dr. Lisa Caulley, Dr. Marie-Hélène Chomienne, Dr. Sanni Yaya, Dr. Roland Pongou, Dr. Hugues Loemba
Funding agency. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Total value. $200,000.00 (CIHR)/ $1,375,146.00 (PHAC)
Date. 2022-2024