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May 3, 2010: "Quality of Life, Stigma and BD: A Collaboration for Change" Receives CIHR Funding
Breaking news! The government of Canada has recognized the excellence of CREST.BD!
The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) awarded CREST.BD researchers the top-ranked grant application in the 2009 / 2010 Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) funding competition. Too often, researchers create knowledge that doesn't get applied: the purpose of KTA grants is to accelerate the translation of knowledge by linking researchers and knowledge-users to move knowledge into action.
CREST.BD researchers have pioneered the understanding of stigma and quality of life in bipolar disorder (led by Dr. Michalak), and also have unique expertise in implementation science (led by Dr. Parikh). These skills will be unified to produce unique programs for both clients and treatment providers so that they may learn how to utilize quality of life assessment in routine clinical practice. Similarly, both groups will learn how to recognize various forms of stigma about mental illness and identify ways to reduce the impact of stigma on people with BD.
At a direct level, these interventions will begin to alter clinical practice; at another level, the grant will allow development and testing of new KT methods that will itself be new research in implementation science. An example of the most creative part of the KT methods will be the use of drama: CREST.BD member Victoria Maxwell already is known for her scintillating plays on mental illness. She will develop a new play, aimed at both clients and providers, to engage all in exploring how we all react in dealing with the illness. Other KT activities include formal lectures, web-based modules, and innovative new print materials.
Team members actively involved in this application include co-lead investigators Erin Michalak (UBC) and Sagar Parikh (University of Toronto), with a special role for "Decision-Maker" Victoria Maxwell and co-investigators Jehannine Austin, Rachelle Hole, Mark Lau, Jamie Livingston, Roumen Milev, Barbara Pesut, Melinda Suto, Greg Murray and Steven Hinshaw. The team will be supported by a Community Steering Committee.
Watch our website for further updates and calls for participation!
March 18, 2010: People First Radio Segment on Self-Management and Community-Based Research
An archive of a radio segment on People First Radio (PFR) interviewing Michael Crain about his personal experiences with BD and about his work in the community is available.
February 15, 2010: People First Radio Segment on Wellness Strategies for BD Study
An archive of a radio segment on People First Radio (PFR) describing some of the results from the Wellness Strategies for BD study is available.
February 15, 2010: Findings from Wellness Strategies for BD Study
A feature on the findings from the Wellness Strategies for BD study in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) journal 'Crosscurrents' is now available.
December 30, 2009: Living – well – with bipolar disorder (Vancouver Sun)
There is no handbook for living well with bipolar disorder, but a project funded by the B.C. Medical Services Foundation may change that.
Psychologist Erin Michalak and her collaborators at Vancouver Coastal Health, the University of B.C., the Brain Research Centre at UBC and Australia's Swinburne University are turning the usual research model on its head.
Events
June 29, 2010: Recovery and Bipolar Disorder: A CREST.BD Consultation Day
Dr. Erin Michalak from the Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, and members of CREST.BD (the Collaborative RESearch Team to study psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder) are holding a consultation event on June 29, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Cecil Green Park on UBC campus. View the information poster / registration form (Word).
This one-day CIHR-funded Community Consultation Day aims to:
- provide a networking and mutual learning opportunity for CREST.BD team members, people with BD and their family members
- explore the concept of recovery from the perspective of people who are living with BD, their family members, and support systems, and
- use Community Based Research (CBR) methods to produce a report describing the results from the event for dissemination to health care providers
If you experience bipolar disorder (BD), are a family member of someone with BD or are associated with a relevant community agency, and would and would like to get involved, please complete and submit the registration form (Word), or contact Dr. Erin Michalak for further details at 604-822-3393 or erin.michalak@ubc.ca.
March 12, 2009: CIHR funded Stigma, discrimination and bipolar disorder: A community consultation event
The consumer consultation event Stigma, discrimination and bipolar disorder: A community consultation event was attended by 65 people: 54 consumers, family members, and support workers, and 11 CREST.BD members. Victoria Maxwell (a consumer who is a member of the CREST.BD team) and Erin Michalak co-chaired the event.
The morning session started with focus groups. Attendees were separated into one of five groups based on their interest: 3 bipolar groups by age range, a parent group, and a family member group. The focus groups were led by a CREST.BD member who asked the members to share their experiences of stigma. The purpose of the focus groups was to explore the experiences people with bipolar disorder have with stigma, understand how stigma impacts their lives, and identify ways to reduce stigma. From the groups, we received valuable data and suggestions for future research areas. The session ended with a presentation from each group that summarized the discussions.
The afternoon session began with presentation from 3 CREST.BD members on their research projects: Jamie Livingston (Stigma: A Multi-Faceted Monster), Cartiona Hippman (Internalised stigma in relatives of people with mental illness), and Melinda Suto (Stigma in BD: Stories from the Wellness Study). Attendees were very interested in the studies and many questions followed the presentations.
The event ended with an open discussion on continuing the dialogue. We discussed strategies for continuing to meaningfully involve the consumers in our future program of research.