The NorthBEAT Collaborative was born in 2012 as a research project, and evolved into a strategic systems collaborative in 2017. The research project explored the barriers youth experience psychosis in Northern Ontario face along their pathway to care. The research findings showed that while some youth experience direct care pathways, many were convoluted; in short, we learned that youth are not getting the care they need, when they need it. An important theme from the interviews was the importance of knowledge about psychosis. Many youth turned to non-specialist services for help and were either led down a longer-than-necessary path to Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI), or were turned away completely. NorthBEAT’s lead, Dr. Chi Cheng, saw an opportunity for NorthBEAT to put knowledge into action quickly and effectively to help improve care pathways for youth.
NorthBEAT proposed the development of a strategic systems collaborative which would help build capacity around psychosis in Northwestern Ontario, and applied for funding from the Ontario Trillium Funding Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF at OTF). In May 2017, Dr. Cheng and the NorthBEAT Collaborative were awarded a four-year YOF at OTF grant. The NorthBEAT Collaborative will use the funding to improve the system of care to detect psychosis symptoms early on, and enable youth living in Northwestern Ontario to access appropriate services. The project is designed to improve connections between sectors, redesign existing resources, and build the capacity of service providers.
Youth with psychosis in Northwestern Ontario do not get the help they need, when they need it. We’re going to change that