Poster Presentation
Friday, 21 July 2006
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Friday, 21 July 2006
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
This presentation is part of : Poster Presentations III
Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Understanding the Mental Health Needs of Transitional Street Youth
Elizabeth McCay, RN, PhD1, John Langley, MD2, Heather Beanlands, RN, PhD3, Linda Cooper, RN, PhD3, Patricia Robinson, RN, MEd4, Carol Howes, MSW5, Karen Bach, BA, MPsych6, Colin Dart, MSW7, Susan Miner8, Naomi Mudachi3, and Marianne Rigatti3. (1) School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada, (2) Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada, (3) School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, (4) School of Nursing, George Brown College, Toronto, ON, Canada, (5) Covenant House, Residential Outreach Programs, Toronto, ON, Canada, (6) Yonge Street Mission’s Evergreen Centre for Street Youth, Yonge Street Mission’s Evergreen Centre for Street Youth, Toronto, ON, Canada, (7) Turning Point Youth Services, Turning Point Youth Services, Toronto, ON, Canada, (8) Street Outreach Services, Street Outreach Services, Toronto, ON, Canada
Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to identify the range of mental health problems facing youth living on the street.
Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to understand the benefits of using mixed methodological approaches to describe the mental health needs of transitional street youth.
We are a team of researchers and community partners working together to develop an in-depth understanding of the mental health needs of homeless youth (ages 16 to 24). It is readily apparent that homeless youth experience a range of mental health problems. For youth living on the street, mental illness may be either a major risk factor for homelessness or may frequently emerge in response to coping with the multitudinous stressors associated with homelessness including exposure to violence, pressure to participate in survival sex and/or drug use. The immediate objective of this research study is to undertake a comprehensive assessment of mental health needs. A mixed methodology triangulating qualitative, participatory action and quantitative methods will capture the data related to mental health needs of homeless youth. A purposive sample of approximately 60-80 subjects, ages 16 to 24, is currently being recruited to participate from the community agencies Covenant House, Evergreen Centre for Street Youth, Turning Point and Street Outreach Services in Toronto. Youth living on the street or in short –term residential programs for a minimum of 1 month prior to their participation; ages 16 to 24 and able to give informed consent will be invited to participate in the study.  Our preliminary data indicates that these youth have profoundly high levels of depression. Despite this exceedingly high level of emotional distress, our preliminary results also indicate moderately high levels of resilience in this vulnerable group. It is anticipated that results from this study will contribute to the development of mental health policy, as well as future programs that are relevant to the mental health needs of street youth. It is anticipated that preliminary quantitative data (40-50 subjects) and qualitative data will be available for presentation at the conference. 

See more of Poster Presentations III
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)