Co-creating a digital resource to identify and address the structural drivers of mental illness stigma

With collaborators from the UK, Canada and Sweden, we will address the structural drivers of mental illness stigma, as experienced by young rural people, in families where a parent experiences mental health challenges. Structural drivers are the systems and environments that shape health outcomes for all individuals. Examples include legal systems, education, health services and the media. This group has already identified the structural drivers of stigma in a published paper (Reupert et al., 2021) and based on the evidence from this review, the current project will address these, from the perspective of young people living in rural communities within Gippsland. Approximately 10-20 young people aged 18-25 years from Gippsland will participate in 2 half day workshops, co-facilitated by young leaders who have a parent with mental health challenges and who have completed training with Satellite, and Satellite facilitators. The workshops will be highly interactive and dynamic, commencing with story telling that will be used to introduce the topic, build trust and prompt rich discussion about the intersection of mental illness stigma and other forms of discrimination. The second workshop will be filmed, with recording to be used to create a digital resource for education and advocacy. The overall aim of this project is to evaluate and document the co-production process, impacts and outcomes of a digital resource developed by young people impacted by parental mental health challenges, to address intersectional stigma (as defined by the young people). In relation to the research components of this project, the three objectives are to: 1. Describe and analyse the project processes. Research questions are: - How do young people describe their involvement in the development of a digital resource to address stigma? - How satisfied are young people with the co-production process? 2. Understand the ways in which engagement in the project is described to have impacted on young people participating. Research questions: - How do young people describe the ways in which participation in the co-production of a digital resource addressing stigma, impacts them? - What do young people identify as desirable outcomes from a stigma resource (for themselves and for society)? - Who do the young people want to share this resource with, and why? 3. Evaluate the digital resource, and the ways that it is disseminated and used. Research questions: - How do members of the target audience perceive the purpose and usefulness of the digital resource for young people whose parents have mental health challenges (including Satellite consultation gp)? - What changes (if any) in knowledge or attitudes do audience members report after viewing the resource? - How do young people respond to the completed digital resource to address stigma? - How acceptable is the digital resource to the young people who created it? - What is the reach of the digital resource (how many people viewed the resource)?