Dismantling Structural Stigma in Healthcare: An Implementation Guide

I am honoured to be a contributor to the Mental Health Commission of Canada's Dismantling Structural Stigma in Healthcare: An Implementation Guide to Making Real Change.
This guide is centred on people living with mental health problems/issues and or substance use concerns.

Here is a short overview of the implementation guide provided to me by a member of the Mental Health Commission of Canada:

• Structural stigma arbitrarily limits the opportunities and rights of persons with lived and living experience (PWLLE) of mental health problems and illnesses and/or substance use. While often unintended, it embeds inequities into the fabric of our social institutions, organizations, and shared ways of thinking and acting. In health care, structural stigma exists in laws, policies, practices, and models of care that deprioritize, dehumanize, and fail to treat PWLLE equally. Such unfairness reduces their access to health care, the availability of evidence-based services, and the quality of care they receive.
• The goal of this guide is to share knowledge about the key features of structural change and strategies and the considerations for making it happen — and to guide those interested in reducing MHSU-related structural stigma in their organizations.
• Drawing on real-world insights from organizations across the country, this guide provides practical tips, advice, tools, and resources, based on the Theory of Change - Dismantling Structural Stigma, which includes 11 components of structural change, from establishing and communicating a vision for change to measuring and monitoring progress over time. These components are grouped into three overarching categories (context, success factors, and sustainability), further explored in the guide.
• The guide is meant for individuals at any level in a healthcare organization who can influence, advocate for, or lead efforts to reduce MHSU-related structural stigma:
• leaders and administrators who can influence changes to the way care is provided to people living with MHSU problems or illnesses
• Health care providers, allied health professionals, health care workers, personal care workers, and clerical support workers in health services are seeking to improve the quality of care for people living with MHSU problems or illnesses.
• any other individual interested in addressing MHSU-related structural stigma in health care, including people with lived living experience, family members and/or patient representatives on committees.
• The guide is available in both English and French on the MHCC website

https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/resource/dismantling-structural-stigma-in-health-care-an-implementation-guide/?_gl=1*dydlkp*_ga*MzA4MDU2OTAwLjE2OTk5Njg4NTc