OFCP and Canadian Mental Health Association: Mental Health Workshops
OFCP, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, are proud to invite our members, their families, and their caregivers, to attend the following, free upcoming webinars.
Compassion Fatigue - March 3rd, 2:00-3:00 p.m. with Gary Bure
This is a one-hour workshop, where participants will be able to explore personal actions they can take as well as practical tools for dealing with the effects of their own compassion fatigue. Past participants have reported feeling inspired to make meaningful changes in their personal, professional and organizational lives in addition to learning practical strategies for identifying and dealing with the costs of caring.
Resiliency During Extraordinary Times - March 17th, 2:00-3:00 p.m. with Jeanette Schepp
Help build resiliency during extraordinary times, by understanding the mental health impacts of change throughout uncertain and ever-changing circumstances. This presentation has been designed to offer insights into the impact of change on your mental health. Learn about the characteristics of resiliency and how to incorporate strategies to improve and maintain your mental well being. This presentation is one of four presentations designed to share positive mental health strategies and promote mental well-being.
Hello everyone! Due to my recent partnership with OFCP, I thought I would start
today’s post with a brief introduction of myself to all of you. My name is Kylie Hamilton, I am currently working on completing my Masters of Disability Studies at Brock University with my thesis focusing on concussion rehabilitation and information dissemination. I have been studying Disability Studies since my undergrad, which I completed in 2018 with an honours double major in Disability Studies and Fine Arts and Art History. In my spare time, I’m an artist and I love staying active. I am passionate about taking scientific findings and making information accessible to everyone, oftentimes this is made possible by changing the language to be more clear, concise, and simple. For those of you following my journey from North Yorkers for Disabled Persons, I’m happy to have you read along on a different platform.
Now let’s dive in! This post will provide an overview on the current vaccines available to Canadians, as well as an overview of the ethical framework for vaccine distribution.
Current Vaccines Available To Canadians
Currently, the two vaccines that have been authorized by Health Canada are the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine. Both vaccines are MRNA vaccines that require two separate injections.
The Moderna vaccine is an injection into the muscle of your arm, and the first injection cannot be followed with a second injection until a month later. The Moderna vaccine is 94.1% effective, but the full efficacy kicks in about 14 days after the second injection. Most common side effects are injection site pain, body chills, fatigue and fever. Currently, the Moderna vaccine has been delayed with its distribution into Canada because of issues with its European supply chain and restrictions on exports. The Canadian contract with Moderna is based on a quarterly procurement agreement, which Moderna states they will honour.
The Pfizer vaccine is also an injection into the muscle of your arm. The two doses are to be distributed 21 days apart from one another. The Pfizer vaccine boasts 95% efficacy with peak protection beginning one week after the second dose. The side effects of the Pfizer vaccine are similar to those of the Moderna vaccine: injection site pain, body chills, fatigue, and fever. The Pfizer vaccine has also encountered delays in distribution which have been attributed to a warehouse expansion in Belgium which has been chosen to fill Canada’s orders.
Ethical Framework For Vaccine Distribution
There has been much contention on who receives the vaccine first. In response to these queries, the Government of Canada created an ethical framework to follow when it comes to distributing the vaccine. The ethical framework consists of 6 main focuses: minimize harms and maximize benefits, equity, fairness, transparency, legitimacy, and public trust.
Their first ethical consideration is to maximize benefits and minimize harm. This is to ensure that the distribution prioritizes those at greatest risk due to a variety of factors: biological, social, geographical, occupational, etc.
The framework also focuses on equity in distribution without bias or discrimination. Equity is different from equality, as equality focuses on equal distribution regardless of extenuating circumstances, while equity focuses on proper distribution of resources proportionately to achieve a fair outcome. This focus on equity will ensure benefits for populations experiencing greater risks due to the virus, such as racialized communities who experience COVID-19 complications at a higher rate than other populations. This concept may also encompass another priority in the framework, which is fairness. This ensures inclusivity and consistency being applied to various communities in Ontario.
The framework aims to be transparent and provide rationale and principles behind their decision-making processes and plans. It aims to utilize accessible wording that is easily communicated and understood by the general public. This reinforces another aspect of the framework, which is public trust. This ensures that decisions and decision- making processes are created to foster trust with the community.
Most importantly, legitimacy. This means that decisions are based on the best scientific evidence available. This also includes feedback and contributions from historically under-represented groups to remain as inclusive as possible and best serve the diverse Ontario population.
Hopefully this clears up any ambiguities that may be tied into the vaccine distribution and overall goals of distribution. Overall, the framework was created to be as transparent as possible.
I look forward to writing for you all again! In the meantime, I leave you with the same sentiment I gave to North Yorkers readers: stay safe and stay healthy. I leave you with the reminder that this is a difficult time for everyone, so please find room to extend grace and patience to your fellow neighbours.
Until next time!
Kylie Hamilton & OFCP
Ontario Delays March Break in an Effort to Reduce Community Transmission of COVID
Today, Stephen Lecce, Ontario's Minister of Education, issued the following statement regarding March break:
"In support of our collective efforts to keep schools safe, we are postponing March break until April 12-16, 2021. This decision was made with the best advice of Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and public health officials, including consultations with many local Medical Officers of Health.
Many students have been learning remotely since the start of 2021. It is critical we follow public health advice to protect schools and avoid a repeat of the concerning spike in youth-related cases over the winter break, when students and staff were out of schools for a prolonged period of time. We are taking this precaution based on advice from health experts, including the province's Science Table and the Chief Medical Officer of Health, to help protect against the emerging COVID-19 variants of concern.
Seeking Participants for research on Youth Healthcare Transitions: Supporting Individualized Role and Responsibility Transitions
Have you experienced or are involved in the transition from paediatric to adult care?
We are looking for participants to take part in a research study on Youth Healthcare Transitions from paediatric to adult care and supporting the individualized process of role and responsibility transitions. We want to gain a deeper understanding of your experiences, expectations, feelings, preferences, and needs in the process of role and responsibility transitions as you went through the transition from paediatric to adult care so that we can understand what kinds of support is needed for caregivers/parents and young adults in this process. If you have gone through the transition from paediatric to adult care, we would like to hear from you to highlight challenges and opportunities that you see from your perspective, and co-create ideas that could lead to solutions to help support this process.
Who can participate?
- Young adults (18-25) with chronic or complex medical conditions
- Parents / caregivers of young adults (with the above criteria)
- You have transitioned from paediatric to adult care or have been involved in transition
- You live in Ontario and speak English
- You have access to internet and a device/phone/email
What’s involved?
As a participant, you will be asked to participate in any or all of the following:
1. An online or over the phone interview scheduled at your convenience (approx. 30-45 minutes)
2. An online asynchronous activity (time breakdown below)
a. An activity walk-through (approx. 15 mins with the researcher). This phone call can be scheduled at the same time as your interview should you choose to do the interview
b. The full activity will be completed online on your own time and pace (approx. 30-45 mins)
c. Opportunity to clarify or ask questions after the activity (approx. 15 mins with the researcher)
3. An online group co-design session (approx. 60 minutes)
a. Requires participation in either the interview or the online asynchronous activity
4. An online group feedback session (approx. 30 minutes)
Participation will take approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes (2 hours and 15 mins for providers) of your time in total if you choose to participate in all activities. You will be provided with a $10.00 gift card for participating in any of the activities.
For more information or to enrol in the study, please contact Christina Dery, co-investigator at cd09oi@ocadu.ca
