The proposed three-part dialogue series is designed to address the expansion of involuntary treatment in BC and, more specifically, the expansion of the role of certifier under the Mental Health Act. As noted above, this is a new role in BC and a new role for NPs. This role raises several questions, issues, and concerns as well as implications for professional regulation, system-level implementation, and clinical practice that have yet to be identified in the BC context.
To achieve the plan outlined below, we will leverage prior Michael Smith Health Research BC C2 grant experiences and partner with a community-based facilitation service (i.e., SpencerCreo Foundation) to hold three virtual dialogue sessions. These dialogues sessions will seek to identify emerging policy-to-practice research gaps by working across two dimensions: policy-as-written (e.g., intended purpose, scope, guidance, etc.) and policy-in-practice (e.g., implementation considerations, professional and organizational contexts, unintended effects, whole system impact, etc.).
Each session will bring together a set of stakeholders with shared experience and expertise.
Dialogue session 1 will bring together nursing stakeholders in BC, with a focus on ensuring representation of experience and expertise in nursing-related policy, professional regulation, practice, research, ethics, and law as well as meaningful representation of NPs directly affected by the new certifier role.
Dialogue session 2 will bring together interdisciplinary academic stakeholders from the fields of mental health and substance use to promote cross-pollination of ideas, take stock involuntary treatment-related research, and foster collaborative partnerships for future research. Experts outside of BC will be invited to contribute to avoid siloing.
Dialogue session 3 will bring together community and advocacy stakeholders in BC, including people with lived experience, organizations involved in legal advocacy and legal reform, and community leaders – including Indigenous leaders representing communities whose relationships with NPs as primary care providers are uniquely situated.
These dialogues sessions will be summarized in a short report that can be used as a working document to inform future research while also creating opportunities for research to be included in policy monitoring, system-level implementation, professional advocacy, and clinical practice of NPs working in primary care/substance use/mental health.