Research summary
People living in rural and remote communities in Canada and around the world face unique challenges when it comes to accessing quality mental health services. On top of that, recent humanitarian disasters have intensified mental health disparities. To address these issues, policies and programs to promote sustainable, equitable mental health care are urgently needed.
As Canada Research Chair in Health Equity and Social Justice, Dr. Katie Aubrecht aims to inform domestic and international policy on mental health in rural areas by using a participatory action research and training program with three objectives. First, she and her research team are identifying promising directions in human rights-based approaches to rural mental health care. They are also evaluating the health equity impacts of human rights-based approaches to mental health. Lastly, they are working to promote social justice by mobilizing the mental health knowledge they generate.