Grant: Operating Grant: College and Community Innovation Social Innovation Fund

Forensic psychiatry provides treatment for people who have been found not criminally responsible for an offence due to their mental illness and aims to improve mental health and reduce recidivism. Forensic patients with mental illness are more sedentary, have reduced levels of physical fitness, metabolic health, and Quality of Life (QoL) and are at a higher risk for obesity as compared to the general population. Furthermore, forensic patients are detained in a restrictive hospital setting and experience a loss of autonomy and a reduction in social connections. While there are substantial benefits associated with increasing social connections and exercise opportunities, environmental and institutional barriers limit access to these opportunities. The overall goal of the project is to develop an intervention that will reduce health disparities and inequities experienced by the forensic patient population in Canada by supporting improvements in health and QoL to address an important human rights concern. This project's objectives are to determine the barriers to engagement in a community-based exercise program. In addition, we will investigate the uptake, adherence, and impact of a community-based exercise intervention on physical fitness, QoL, mental illness and sleep quality in forensic patients at Ontario Shores. This research is in partnership with Ontario Shores, a public teaching hospital providing specialized assessment and treatment services for those living with complex and serious mental illness, and with the Abilities Centre, a community recreation centre. Benefits of this innovative intervention may include: low-cost intervention can be used in combination with medication, improving QoL and reducing the expenses and burden on the healthcare system; cost-effective as it provides patients with access to existing community resources and networks reducing demand on primary health care providers; supports the rehabilitation and community re- integration of patients receiving forensic mental health care, which is a persistent challenge. This will provide Abilities Centre with new tools for reaching individuals of marginalized groups, specifically those living with mental illness. Benefits to forensics patients will lead to return on investment for Ontario Shores so that they can expand this program to other patients, including general psychiatry patients and outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders.