Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Individuals experiencing mental health and addictions concerns face many physical, emotional, and social strains as a result of their illnesses, all the while trying to navigate unfamiliar territory in the healthcare system. Navigation is a strategy that can help people facing complex care needs and barriers to care in finding and accessing needed supports in the health care system. Navigators provide patient-centered service, guiding individuals through their care plans and overcoming barriers to care. Navigation for individuals experiencing mental health and addictions concerns has shown significant promise and has been gaining traction across Canada. The Canadian Healthcare Navigation Conference will be the first event of its kind in Canada to bring together navigation researchers, service providers, students, decision makers, and individuals with lived experience to share lessons learned, promising practices, and research findings. This event will be co-hosted by the Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and NaviCare/SoinsNavi at the University of New Brunswick, and will take place on April 30th to May 1st 2020 in Toronto. This event will begin with an evening networking reception, where attendees will connect before the full day of presentations. The next day, there will be two keynote presentations; one from a research or practice leader in navigation in the morning, and another from an individual with lived experience involved in advocacy in Canadian healthcare in the afternoon. Concurrent presentations will also be held following each keynote presentation. A poster session will be held at the end of the day for participants to engage with each other and discuss their work. This conference is an important first step to creating a shared national conversation about navigation services so that we can continue to develop, implement, and share best evidence and practices in the field.