Pause, re-think, go virtual … pandemic adaptations from 20 diverse mental health promotion intervention projects across Canada

• DOI: 10.1016/j.mhp.2022.200235
• Publication Date: 2022-03-13T14:34:36Z
• Authors: Barbara L Riley; Renata F Valaitis; Aneta Abramowicz; Eric d'Avernas; Mari Alice Jolin
• Keywords: Promotion (chess); Equity; Pandemic

The Government of Canada's Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund (MHP-IF) is a platform for learning across diverse projects, facilitated by Knowledge Development and Exchange Hub. MHP-IF projects were getting underway before the COVID-19 pandemic escalated in 2020 dramatically shifted their circumstances activities. Using storytelling methods, this study explored 20 project experiences during first year pandemic, including how why assumptions, plans, activities adapted; early signals about what was working well or not; adaptations influenced equity, access, cultural safety. Project teams generally navigated through four stages: pausing, re-thinking, adapting, settling into adjustments. Within these stages, addressed similar processes, meeting fundamental needs participants teams, managing unanticipated benefits, engaging with online formats. All experienced pandemic's influence amplifying both inequities public political attention on mental health. This provides experiential evidence from settings populations Canada adaptations. multi-project model methods can usefully contribute to additional research, ways address promote