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Mental Health and the Workplace CIHR Workshop

Working Group Members | Workshop | Presentations | Documents

In February 2003, the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) and the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INHMA) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) constituted a working group to develop a long-term research agenda on mental health and the workplace. The working group membership is comprised of researchers and stakeholders from throughout the country.

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of our sponsors

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Working Group Members

Working Group Co-Chairs:

Alain Lesage, MD, FRCP(C), Mphil
Advisory Board, Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin

Jean-Yves Savoie, PhD
Chair, Advisory Board, Institute of Population and Public Health

April Workshop Co-Chair:

Carolyn S. Dewa, MPH, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Members:

Renée Bourbonnais, PhD
Département de réadaptation, Université Laval

Gaston Harnois, MD
Montreal PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Research & Training in Mental Health

Marina Morrow, PhD
BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health

Michèle Parent
Standard Life Canada

Phil Upshall
Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness & Mental Health

Ex-officio Members:

Diane Gaudet
Institut de recherche Robert-sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST)

Jean Pruneau
Health Canada

John Service, PhD
Canadian Psychological Association

Bill Wilkerson
Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health

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Invited Workshop April 28th and 29th, 2004

This working group has been mandated to develop a long-term research agenda on mental health and the workplace. To facilitate the process, on April 28th and 29th, 2004, it held an invited workshop that convened 120 participants including researchers, policy maker, decision maker, stakeholder, worker, insurance company, health care professionals and employer representatives. Invitation was based on: (1) researchers identified as experts in the field of mental health in the workplace in the Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Mental Health in the Workplace in Canada, 1991-2002 (a report commissioned by the working group), (2) regional and research-group representation, and (3) a balance between research and non-research stakeholders. The purpose of the gathering was to establish a research agenda and identify research priorities for the next 10 years that will be stimulating for researchers and of practical application for the workplace.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

• Develop a comprehensive research agenda focusing on mental health and the workplace
• Create a momentum for new and ongoing research in this area,
• Provide an opportunity for researchers and research groups from all over Canada who are doing work in this area to meet and exchange ideas
• Identify stakeholder partners to promote and work support in this area
• To develop partnerships between researchers and stakeholders that can support, finance, initiate research on mental health in the workplace in the next two decades.

The workshop was structured around discussion papers focussing on key facets of mental health in the workplace including the nature and magnitude of the problem; workplace prevention and promotion strategies; diagnostic and treatment issues; disability management and return to work, and knowledge transfer. Five of the six papers were accompanied with two responses - one from a researcher and another from a non-researcher stakeholder perspective. The discussion papers were written by experts in their fields and were discussed in small break-out sessions with an aim to identify research priorities for the specific area. These papers will be part of an forthcoming special issue of Healthcare Papers.

The papers were:

1. Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Mental Health and in the Workplace in Canada, 1991-2002
   Éric Archambault*, Grégoire Côté*, Yves Gringas** *Science Metric, Montréal, **Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie/Observatoire des sciences et la technologie, Université du Québec à Montréal
   
   
2. Nature and Amplitude of Mental Illness in the Workplace
   Carolyn S. Dewa, MPH, PhD†, Alain Lesage, MD, FRCP(C), MPhil‡, Paula Goering, RN, PhD†, Michele Caveen, MSc, BSPhm† †Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, ‡Psychiatrie sociale, Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin, Montreal, Québec
   
   Respondents:
   • Dave Marcotte, PhD, University of Maryland, School of Public Policy
   • Michèle Parent, Standard Life Canada
   • Irene Klatt, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc. (CLHIA)
   
   
3. Workplace Prevention and Promotion Strategies
   Michel Vézina, MD, FRCPC,a Renée Bourbonnais, DSc,b Chantal Brisson, PhD,a Louis Trudel, PhDb a Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, b Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec
   
   Respondents:
   • Michiel Kompier, PhD, Radboud University, Dept of Work & Organizational Psychology, The Netherlands
   • Diane Parent, L'Association paritaire pour la santé et la sécurité du travail du secteur affaires sociales (ASSTSAS)
   
   
4. Diagnosis and Treatment
   Sidney H. Kennedy, MD, FRCP(C)±, Ashley Bender, MD ±University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Centre for Addiction & Mental Health
   
   Respondents:
   • Nick Kates, MD, FRCP(C), and Lindsey George, MD, FRCP(C), McMaster University, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences. Hamilton-Wentworth Health Services Organization (HSO) Mental Health & Nutrition Program.
   • John Service, PhD, Canadian Psychological Association
   
   
5. Disability Management and Return-to-Work
   Elliot Goldner, MD, MHSc, FRCP(C)††, Dan Bilsker PhD††, Merv Gilbert PhD††, Larry Myette MD††, Marc Corbière PhD††, Carolyn S. Dewa, MPH, PhD† ††Div of Mental Health Policy & Services, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC †Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario
   
   Respondents:
   • William Gnam MD, FRCP(C), MSc, Center for Addiction and Mental Health
   • Paula Allen, FGI
   
   
6. Stigma and Discrimination
   Heather Stuart, MA, PhD Associate Professor, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
   
   Respondents:
   • Matthias Angermeyer, MD, Department of Psychiatry , University of Leipzig, Germany
   • Barbara Everett, PhD, Canadian Mental Health Association
   
   
7. Integrating health research and the Canadian workplace with particular attention to how to do research in the workplace as well as listen to stakeholder needs and enhance research uptake
   Aldred Neufeldt, MA, PhD Professor, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

In addition to the breakout sessions, participants had the opportunity to hear remarks from a number of key stakeholders including Dr. John Frank, the Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health; Dr. Remi Quirion, the Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addictions; the Honorable Michael Wilson, Bill Wilkerson, Co-Founder and CEO of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health and Andrew King, the National Health, Safety and Environment Co-ordinator of the United Steelworkers of America.

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Presentations

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Documents

Text to come...

For more information please contact Dr. Carolyn Dewa at: Carolyn_Dewa@camh.net

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