Experience-based co-design of an integrated youth mental health and addictions navigation service in a northern community in Ontario, Canada

Background: Youth with mental health and/or addiction (MHA) concerns experience considerable barriers in finding, accessing, and transitioning through MHA care. MHA navigation services are an integrated care approach that prioritizes individualized barrier reduction and inter-professional collaboration to provide expert guidance to youth and families in the MHA system. To effectively implement youth MHA navigation services, they should be co-designed with interest-holders and adapted for the local context.

 

Approach: This presentation shares the findings from an experience-based co-design (EBCD) study that sought to adapt a youth MHA navigation service (the Family Navigation Project) to a novel rural/remote/northern context, where it had previously only been in operation in a large urban setting. All EBCD sessions were planned, co-developed, and co-led by individuals with lived experience and/or who identified with the target group for each session.

 

Youth with MHA concerns (n=50), family caregivers (n=13), service providers (n=20), and decision-makers (n=5) took part in a series of six sessions (youth, caregiver, rural/remote, Francophone, service provider/decision-maker, open) to share experiences finding and participating in MHA care, learn about navigation models of care, and co-design their desired navigation pathway and service approach. Thematic analysis identified experiential drivers of expressed needs from the navigation service, as well as desired features of the navigation service to be implemented.

 

Results: Themes that emerged in participants’ experiences of accessing/providing MHA care revealed concerns regarding physical inaccessibility of services, limited coordination of services, and lack of available resources of appropriate intensity. While service availability was a concern, participants also expressed that knowledge/information barriers may be preventing access to otherwise available services. Co-designed service elements highlighted the need for the integrated youth MHA navigation service to be accessible, personalized, proactive, knowledgeable, and collaborative. The Family Navigation Project is now in early-stage implementation in northern Ontario.

 

Implications: Co-designing an integrated youth MHA navigation service with multiple interest-holder groups gleaned insights well beyond that which would have been achievable through any one group. Community participation and partnerships in co-developing contextually-tailored solutions to system challenges will help ensure care is coordinated in a manner that appropriately addresses local needs and priorities.