Grant: Op. Grant: NWHRI: Innovation Fund - Healthcare implementation research

Our team will form a hub comprised of regional experts in women's mental health and will include voices from academia, clinical practice, community partners, and women with lived and living expertise. The hub will bring unique expertise and focus on the mental health and substance use needs of women involved in the forensic mental health and criminal justice systems in Canada, and will advance our understanding of gender as fluid, non-binary and diverse. As such, we use the term "woman" to include all those who self-identify as women, including cis- and trans-gender women, Two-spirit, and gender-variant people. The central activities proposed for our hub will focus on knowledge co-production and dissemination, with a particular emphasis on translating research evidence and best practice information into health policies and decision-making relevant to justice-involved women. Specific activities will include: (1) the creation of a virtual community of practice (CoP) to bring research and practice innovations to Canadian organizations focused on justice-involved women's health, particularly smaller organizations located away from metropolitan centres that may face challenges to accessing this information; (2) a mentorship program geared towards research trainees in forensic and correctional women's mental health that will promote the sustainability of the hub's activities beyond the granting period; and (3) a series of focus groups, hub meetings and conferences to gather decision-makers, community partners, clinical scientists and trainees, and women with lived expertise. These meetings will serve to identify gaps in research, practice, and policy, and promote the exchange of research, innovations, and best practice information to advance women's mental health services over the long-term.