A Collaborative Approach to Perinatal Mental Health Policy Formulation
Canada needs stronger policies and strategies on perinatal mental health. We need to spell out, in a clear and concise way, a common agenda for perinatal mental health policy in Canada.
The Daymark Foundation is looking to play a coordinating and facilitative role in surfacing, formulating and communicating key policy priorities in perinatal mental health to provincial and territorial governments.
Background
On February 1st, 2023, we held a webinar where we launched a collaborative policy initiative on perinatal mental health and shared details on our proposed approach to the process, which includes:
Developing Policy Briefs on key issues related to perinatal mental health
Adapting recommendations to provinces and territories, based on local context
Organizing a National Symposium on perinatal mental health for policymakers to learn more about the latest evidence and scalable programs.
During the webinar, we asked participants to provide input on what they considered to be policy priorities in perinatal mental health. We then analyzed these responses and converted them into ten possible Policy Brief topics. These were then shared via a survey that was open to any and all perinatal mental health stakeholders, who ranked their priority issues and stated the level at which they may want to engage on each topic. Possible roles include:
Creator: Directly help structure, research and write a Policy Brief
Thought Partner/Informant: Contribute insights and ideas on the Policy Brief topic at the front and back ends of the process
Stakeholder/Supporter: Endorse and share findings and recommendations.
We received 67 responses to this survey from stakeholders across Canada, who shared their thoughts on the Policy Brief topics, as well as any interest in being involved in the initiative. For more details on the process:
Replay the recording of our February 1st webinar or view the slide deck
View a briefing note outlining our Approach to Policy Brief Development, which also includes the list of policy brief topics and a visual outlining the structure of roles within the initiative. However, please note that this document mostly focuses on the approach we will be taking on the Policy Brief component of this initiative. Further details on the Provincial/Territorial adaptations and the National Symposium will be provided in future documents.
Update as of March 2023: Ways to Be Involved as a Thought Partner/Informant or Stakeholder/Supporter
Key policy priority topics have been determined, and ‘Creator’ roles have been filled with stakeholders formed into teams to serve on the Policy Brief Working Groups to begin developing the policy briefs.
If you would like to be involved in the process, we are still accepting stakeholders who would like to serve in the ‘Thought Partner/Informant’ and/or ‘Stakeholder/Supporter’ roles. If you would like to be involved in these capacities:
Complete this survey to indicate your desired areas of involvement. Please note that this is a revised version of the original survey that was shared with stakeholders. You will only be able to indicate your desired areas of involvement within the roles of ‘Thought Partner/Informant’ and/or ‘Stakeholder/Supporter’.
If you have any questions or feedback to share, or would like to further discuss your involvement, feel free to contact us by email: vani[at]daymarkfoundation.ca