Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Patient-Oriented Research

Black people are a growing population in Canada. The Black population has a higher percentage of children under 15 years old than the general Canadian population. Black children experience poor mental health outcomes. They also experience high rates of gun violence, high school dropout, terrorist activities, and gang violence. Despite research on the poorer mental health and social outcomes of Black youth, there is very little research leading to effective tools to improve the mental health of Black children. Data from our previous study on parenting and mental health promotion practices of African immigrants in Alberta and our research with Black youth reinforce the need for a community-driven project focusing on the mental health of Black children with the engagement of Black children as fruitful actors. This project responds to that need by developing strategies to promote the mental health of Black children in Alberta, which has the fastest growing population of Black people in Canada. We also seek to collect data on factors influencing the mental health of Black children from children's perspectives. Our main community-based action involves conversation cafés with Black children and parents in Alberta. The conversation cafés will infuse arts and traditional knowledge with Western knowledge. Each conversation café will be co-facilitated by a Black person and a health or social service professional, including pediatric residents. We will collect data through 1) individual interviews of 40 to 60 Black parents and children in Alberta; and 2) field notes and video recordings of conversation cafés. Advisory committees will lead all stages of the research project. We will hold yearly engagement sessions, create two educational YouTube videos, and develop documents ("briefs") with advice to improve practice and policy.