Joanna Ochocka
Biographic Data
| ID | 148108 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joanna Ochocka |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joanna |
| FAMILY NAME | Ochocka |
| SIGNATURE | OCHOCKA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Centre for Community Based Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7869-7528 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 133 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
The Impact of Syrian Refugee Arrivals on Local Systems of Support in Canada
Advancing community-based research in Canada
Canada has a strong track record of community-based research. The Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRCC) has made partnership research one of the three main components of its funding architecture. Community Based Research Canada (CBRC) supports a national network of university and community researchers working on a broad range of projects addressing issues of high priority on the research and societal agendas. In November 2014,…
From social liminality to cultural negotiation
The underlying psychosocial processes that produce immigrant mental wellbeing are understudied in anthropology and medicine. This paper provides insights into these processes by describing culturally diverse immigrants' perceptions of mental health and adaptation strategies. Qualitative data were collected from 21 focus groups as part of a large, multidisciplinary, participatory action research project about mental health with five ethnolinguisti…
Developing Theory From Complexity
Research studies are increasingly complex: They draw on multiple methods to gather data, generate both qualitative and quantitative data, and frequently represent the perspectives of more than one stakeholder. The teams that generate them are increasingly multidisciplinary. A commitment to engaging community members in the research process often adds a further layer of complexity. How to approach a synthesizing analysis of these multiple and vari…
Putting Values into Practice
The purpose of the paper is to reflect on value dilemmas in mental health consumer‐run organizations and to discuss implications for research, policy, and practice. We review the roots of consumer‐run organizations in the self‐help movement and the psychiatric survivor liberation movement, focusing on the distinctive values espoused by consumer‐run organizations. We also discuss evidence‐based and value‐based approaches to mental health policy fo…
Immigrant Parenting
This article presents a new orienting framework for understanding immigrant parenting. The framework was developed and tested through a qualitative research study that involved 50 focus group interviews with immigrant parents who have resided in Canada for less than 3 years. The article begins by reviewing the existing parenting models found in academic literature and noting the limitations of these models. Next it describes the components of our…
Inspiring Knowledge Mobilization Through a Communications Policy
Taking Culture Seriously in Community Mental Health is a community-based participatory action research project in Ontario devoted to developing, pilot testing, and evaluating mental health service models grounded in the concept of "cultural empowerment." To ensure that the knowledge generated in the project is shared and used, the research collaborative places a heavy emphasis on communicating with stakeholder groups. This paper provides an overv…
Capturing system level activities and impacts of mental health consumer‐run organizations
Since the 1970s mental health consumer‐run organizations have come to offer not only mutual support, but they have also adopted agendas for broader social change. Despite an awareness of the need for system level efforts that create supportive environments for their members, there has been limited research demonstrating how their system level activities can be documented or their impacts evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to feature a method…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs), organizations run by and for people with mental illness. A nonequivalent comparison group design was used to compare three groups of participants: (a) those who were continually active in CSIs over a 36‐month period (n = 25); (b) those who had been active in CSIs at 9‐ and 18‐month follow‐up periods, but who were no long…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
Mental health consumer-run organizations are alternatives to mainstream mental health services, and they have the dual focus of supporting members and creating systems change. The existing literature suggests that these organizations have beneficial impacts on social support, community integration, personal empowerment, subjective quality of life, symptom distress, utilization of hospitals, and employment/education. However, much of this research…
A Longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumerñrun self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning, public education, advocacy, and action research. The qualitative data revealed a number of perceived …
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
This article examines the outcomes of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and identifies helpful qualities of CSIs through a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews of people who experienced severe mental health challenges in Ontario, Canada. We used a nonequivalent control group design in which we compared active participants in CSIs ( n = 15) with nonactive participants ( n = 12) at base…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
To evaluate the impacts of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs), we used a nonequivalent control group design to compare new, active participants in CSIs ( n = 61) with nonactive participants ( n = 57) at baseline, 9-month, and 18-month follow-up intervals. The two groups were comparable at baseline on a wide range of demographic variables, self-reported psychiatric diagnosis, service use, and outcome measures. At 9…
Who uses consumer-run self-help organizations
A multisite evaluation of community mental health services is used to answer two questions: (a) How do diagnosis, functioning, and self-assessments of consumer/survivor initiative (CSI) and assertive community treatment (ACT) participants compare?, and (b) What other supports/services are CSI and ACT participants using? The sample is from an Ontario evaluation of consumer/survivor peer initiatives in four communities (n=73). The reference group i…
Un mot des rédacteurs invités
A Comprehensive Evaluation Framework for Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations
This article provides a framework for the evaluation of mental health consumer/ survivor organizations that consists of four main components: (a) participatory processes, (b) conceptualization of the activities and outcomes at the individual and systems levels of these organizations, (c) the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for examining activities and outcomes, and (d) dissemination and action. We assert that these components …
Guest Editors’ Remarks
Considering a multisite study? How to take the leap and have a soft landing
Although most policymakers agree that a fundamental goal of the mental health system is to provide integrated community‐based services, there is little empirical evidence with which to plan such a system. Studies in the community mental health literature have not used a standard set of evaluation methods. One way of addressing this gap is through a multisite program evaluation in which multiple sites and programs evaluate the same outcomes using …
Empowerment and mental health in community
This paper clarifies the concepts of empowerment and mental health and examines their inter‐ relationships in a qualitative study of psychiatric consumer/survivors participating in three innovative community mental health programmes. Focus group interviews with 59 stakeholders and in‐depth stories of six consumer/survivors served as the data base. We defined mental health as the development of choice, control, and community integration and the ac…
Findings from the Ontario Regional Evaluation of the Community Action Program for Children
The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) is a federal government initiative that funds community groups to develop local projects with the goal of supporting the development of children and strengthening families. This article describes a first round of a regional provincial-level evaluation of 30 CAPC projects in Ontario. A participatory action research approach to evaluation was used to describe the local projects and their achievements…
Nothing About Me, Without Me”
Participatory action research with self‐help/mutual aid organizations for psychiatric consumer/survivors is reviewed. We begin by tracing the origins of and defining both participatory action research and self‐help/mutual aid. In so doing, the degree of correspondence between the assumptions/values of participatory action research and those of self‐help/mutual aid for psychiatric consumer/survivors is examined. We argue that participatory action …
Nothing About Me, Without Me”
Participatory action research with self‐help/mutual aid organizations for psychiatric consumer/survivors is reviewed. We begin by tracing the origins of and defining both participatory action research and self‐help/mutual aid. In so doing, the degree of correspondence between the assumptions/values of participatory action research and those of self‐help/mutual aid for psychiatric consumer/survivors is examined. We argue that participatory action …
Empowerment and mental health in community
This paper clarifies the concepts of empowerment and mental health and examines their inter‐ relationships in a qualitative study of psychiatric consumer/survivors participating in three innovative community mental health programmes. Focus group interviews with 59 stakeholders and in‐depth stories of six consumer/survivors served as the data base. We defined mental health as the development of choice, control, and community integration and the ac…
Immigrant Parenting
This article presents a new orienting framework for understanding immigrant parenting. The framework was developed and tested through a qualitative research study that involved 50 focus group interviews with immigrant parents who have resided in Canada for less than 3 years. The article begins by reviewing the existing parenting models found in academic literature and noting the limitations of these models. Next it describes the components of our…
Capturing system level activities and impacts of mental health consumer‐run organizations
Since the 1970s mental health consumer‐run organizations have come to offer not only mutual support, but they have also adopted agendas for broader social change. Despite an awareness of the need for system level efforts that create supportive environments for their members, there has been limited research demonstrating how their system level activities can be documented or their impacts evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to feature a method…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
This article examines the outcomes of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and identifies helpful qualities of CSIs through a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews of people who experienced severe mental health challenges in Ontario, Canada. We used a nonequivalent control group design in which we compared active participants in CSIs ( n = 15) with nonactive participants ( n = 12) at base…
From social liminality to cultural negotiation
The underlying psychosocial processes that produce immigrant mental wellbeing are understudied in anthropology and medicine. This paper provides insights into these processes by describing culturally diverse immigrants' perceptions of mental health and adaptation strategies. Qualitative data were collected from 21 focus groups as part of a large, multidisciplinary, participatory action research project about mental health with five ethnolinguisti…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
To evaluate the impacts of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs), we used a nonequivalent control group design to compare new, active participants in CSIs ( n = 61) with nonactive participants ( n = 57) at baseline, 9-month, and 18-month follow-up intervals. The two groups were comparable at baseline on a wide range of demographic variables, self-reported psychiatric diagnosis, service use, and outcome measures. At 9…
Considering a multisite study? How to take the leap and have a soft landing
Although most policymakers agree that a fundamental goal of the mental health system is to provide integrated community‐based services, there is little empirical evidence with which to plan such a system. Studies in the community mental health literature have not used a standard set of evaluation methods. One way of addressing this gap is through a multisite program evaluation in which multiple sites and programs evaluate the same outcomes using …
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs), organizations run by and for people with mental illness. A nonequivalent comparison group design was used to compare three groups of participants: (a) those who were continually active in CSIs over a 36‐month period (n = 25); (b) those who had been active in CSIs at 9‐ and 18‐month follow‐up periods, but who were no long…
A Longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumerñrun self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning, public education, advocacy, and action research. The qualitative data revealed a number of perceived …
Putting Values into Practice
The purpose of the paper is to reflect on value dilemmas in mental health consumer‐run organizations and to discuss implications for research, policy, and practice. We review the roots of consumer‐run organizations in the self‐help movement and the psychiatric survivor liberation movement, focusing on the distinctive values espoused by consumer‐run organizations. We also discuss evidence‐based and value‐based approaches to mental health policy fo…
Inspiring Knowledge Mobilization Through a Communications Policy
Taking Culture Seriously in Community Mental Health is a community-based participatory action research project in Ontario devoted to developing, pilot testing, and evaluating mental health service models grounded in the concept of "cultural empowerment." To ensure that the knowledge generated in the project is shared and used, the research collaborative places a heavy emphasis on communicating with stakeholder groups. This paper provides an overv…
Nothing About Me, Without Me”
Participatory action research with self‐help/mutual aid organizations for psychiatric consumer/survivors is reviewed. We begin by tracing the origins of and defining both participatory action research and self‐help/mutual aid. In so doing, the degree of correspondence between the assumptions/values of participatory action research and those of self‐help/mutual aid for psychiatric consumer/survivors is examined. We argue that participatory action …
Findings from the Ontario Regional Evaluation of the Community Action Program for Children
The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) is a federal government initiative that funds community groups to develop local projects with the goal of supporting the development of children and strengthening families. This article describes a first round of a regional provincial-level evaluation of 30 CAPC projects in Ontario. A participatory action research approach to evaluation was used to describe the local projects and their achievements…
Empowerment and mental health in community
This paper clarifies the concepts of empowerment and mental health and examines their inter‐ relationships in a qualitative study of psychiatric consumer/survivors participating in three innovative community mental health programmes. Focus group interviews with 59 stakeholders and in‐depth stories of six consumer/survivors served as the data base. We defined mental health as the development of choice, control, and community integration and the ac…
Considering a multisite study? How to take the leap and have a soft landing
Although most policymakers agree that a fundamental goal of the mental health system is to provide integrated community‐based services, there is little empirical evidence with which to plan such a system. Studies in the community mental health literature have not used a standard set of evaluation methods. One way of addressing this gap is through a multisite program evaluation in which multiple sites and programs evaluate the same outcomes using …
Un mot des rédacteurs invités
A Comprehensive Evaluation Framework for Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations
This article provides a framework for the evaluation of mental health consumer/ survivor organizations that consists of four main components: (a) participatory processes, (b) conceptualization of the activities and outcomes at the individual and systems levels of these organizations, (c) the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for examining activities and outcomes, and (d) dissemination and action. We assert that these components …
Guest Editors’ Remarks
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
Mental health consumer-run organizations are alternatives to mainstream mental health services, and they have the dual focus of supporting members and creating systems change. The existing literature suggests that these organizations have beneficial impacts on social support, community integration, personal empowerment, subjective quality of life, symptom distress, utilization of hospitals, and employment/education. However, much of this research…
A Longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumerñrun self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning, public education, advocacy, and action research. The qualitative data revealed a number of perceived …
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
This article examines the outcomes of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and identifies helpful qualities of CSIs through a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews of people who experienced severe mental health challenges in Ontario, Canada. We used a nonequivalent control group design in which we compared active participants in CSIs ( n = 15) with nonactive participants ( n = 12) at base…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
To evaluate the impacts of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs), we used a nonequivalent control group design to compare new, active participants in CSIs ( n = 61) with nonactive participants ( n = 57) at baseline, 9-month, and 18-month follow-up intervals. The two groups were comparable at baseline on a wide range of demographic variables, self-reported psychiatric diagnosis, service use, and outcome measures. At 9…
Who uses consumer-run self-help organizations
A multisite evaluation of community mental health services is used to answer two questions: (a) How do diagnosis, functioning, and self-assessments of consumer/survivor initiative (CSI) and assertive community treatment (ACT) participants compare?, and (b) What other supports/services are CSI and ACT participants using? The sample is from an Ontario evaluation of consumer/survivor peer initiatives in four communities (n=73). The reference group i…
Inspiring Knowledge Mobilization Through a Communications Policy
Taking Culture Seriously in Community Mental Health is a community-based participatory action research project in Ontario devoted to developing, pilot testing, and evaluating mental health service models grounded in the concept of "cultural empowerment." To ensure that the knowledge generated in the project is shared and used, the research collaborative places a heavy emphasis on communicating with stakeholder groups. This paper provides an overv…
Capturing system level activities and impacts of mental health consumer‐run organizations
Since the 1970s mental health consumer‐run organizations have come to offer not only mutual support, but they have also adopted agendas for broader social change. Despite an awareness of the need for system level efforts that create supportive environments for their members, there has been limited research demonstrating how their system level activities can be documented or their impacts evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to feature a method…
A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives
The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs), organizations run by and for people with mental illness. A nonequivalent comparison group design was used to compare three groups of participants: (a) those who were continually active in CSIs over a 36‐month period (n = 25); (b) those who had been active in CSIs at 9‐ and 18‐month follow‐up periods, but who were no long…
Developing Theory From Complexity
Research studies are increasingly complex: They draw on multiple methods to gather data, generate both qualitative and quantitative data, and frequently represent the perspectives of more than one stakeholder. The teams that generate them are increasingly multidisciplinary. A commitment to engaging community members in the research process often adds a further layer of complexity. How to approach a synthesizing analysis of these multiple and vari…
Putting Values into Practice
The purpose of the paper is to reflect on value dilemmas in mental health consumer‐run organizations and to discuss implications for research, policy, and practice. We review the roots of consumer‐run organizations in the self‐help movement and the psychiatric survivor liberation movement, focusing on the distinctive values espoused by consumer‐run organizations. We also discuss evidence‐based and value‐based approaches to mental health policy fo…
Immigrant Parenting
This article presents a new orienting framework for understanding immigrant parenting. The framework was developed and tested through a qualitative research study that involved 50 focus group interviews with immigrant parents who have resided in Canada for less than 3 years. The article begins by reviewing the existing parenting models found in academic literature and noting the limitations of these models. Next it describes the components of our…
From social liminality to cultural negotiation
The underlying psychosocial processes that produce immigrant mental wellbeing are understudied in anthropology and medicine. This paper provides insights into these processes by describing culturally diverse immigrants' perceptions of mental health and adaptation strategies. Qualitative data were collected from 21 focus groups as part of a large, multidisciplinary, participatory action research project about mental health with five ethnolinguisti…
Advancing community-based research in Canada
Canada has a strong track record of community-based research. The Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRCC) has made partnership research one of the three main components of its funding architecture. Community Based Research Canada (CBRC) supports a national network of university and community researchers working on a broad range of projects addressing issues of high priority on the research and societal agendas. In November 2014,…
The Impact of Syrian Refugee Arrivals on Local Systems of Support in Canada
Psychology (20 works) · Political science (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Mental health (13 works) · Mental Health and Patient Involvement (13 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Psychiatry (10 works) · Community Health and Development (9 works) · Health Policy Implementation Science (9 works) · Public relations (9 works)