Researchers at 91亚色鈥檚 have come up with a pioneering way to convey their evidence-based research on what can happen when health-care mistakes are made 鈥� they鈥檙e putting on a play about it.

Seeing the Forest, inspired by a true story about what happens when a patient is not heard, will be staged as part of , Nov. 1 to 5.

Directed by 91亚色 theatre studies PhD candidate Laura Jayne Nelles (BA Spec. Hons. 鈥�84, MFA 鈥�07) and presented by聽91亚色's Faculty of Health and the 91亚色 鈥� UHN (University Health Network) Nursing Academy, the play will take place Monday, Nov. 1 at 1pm in 152 Founders Assembly Hall, Founders College, Keele campus. The event is free and open to everyone.

It will also be performed as part of a symposium at various health-care sites across the Greater Toronto Area.

91亚色 Professors Deborah Tregunno and Liane Ginsburg of the School of Nursing, are leaders in the field of patient safety culture. They collaborated with 91亚色 nursing Professor Gail Mitchell, who has experience with conveying research findings through the arts. This dramatic approach presents research from their studies conducted in four provinces, in cooperation with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

The play鈥檚 development was financially supported by the 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Health Interprofessional Education Fund (IPE). IPE programming is shared with the health-care community through the Faculty鈥檚 innovative .

Co-written by professional playwright Julia Gray (BFA Spec. Hons. 鈥�98, MA 鈥�07) and Mitchell, Seeing the Forest is being performed in collaboration with six organizations, including the Central Community Care Access Centre, the , , , and Unionville Home Society.

鈥淏y dramatizing research using the arts, the findings become more meaningful,鈥� says Mitchell. 鈥淭he play presents the complexity of real life from the perspective of the patient and health care professionals. The impact is much stronger than it would be if you were just reading words off the page of a research report.鈥�

The key character in the play, Healther, goes to the hospital for routine surgery and tries to communicate specific concerns to different health-care providers, yet things go awry. Research suggests that 2.9 to 16.6 percent of patients in acute care hospitals experience one or more adverse events.

鈥淗ealth care providers work hard to keep patients safe every day. However, there are often systemic issues that contribute to errors. This play is valuable because it strikes an emotional chord and engages people in conversations about improving safety,鈥� says Tregunno.

鈥淭his play is a great example of the innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to health care led by 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Health,鈥� adds Professor Lesley Beagrie, associate dean, professional & global programs. 鈥淚nstead of tailoring health-care programs to individual silos within the health profession, we aim to keep the focus on the end user 鈥� the patient.鈥�

The post Nursing researchers collaborate with Department of Theatre to highlight patient safety issues on stage appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The unveiling of the memorial wall plaques will take place Saturday, Sept. 25, at 1pm at the corner of Queen Street West and Shaw Street in Toronto.

Right: One of the walls surrounding the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health

The plaques are dedicated to patient labourers of the past, many of whom built the boundary walls which stand on the south, east and west sides of what was once the Toronto Insane Asylum, now CAMH, at 1001 Queen St. W. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the oldest part of the patient-built boundary wall on the south side, constructed in 1860.

This south wall, along with the walls built from 1888 to 1889 on the east and west sides, is a testament to the abilities of people whose unpaid labour was central to the operation of asylums in Ontario during the 19th聽and 20th centuries.

Left: Geoffrey Reaume

鈥淔or the first time in Canada, the unpaid toil of psychiatric patient labourers will be permanently publicly marked at the site where this history took place for all to learn from and remember,鈥� says Reaume. 鈥淭he plaques will help to challenge prejudices towards psychiatric patients today by pointing out the very tangible abilities of the people who built these walls. Walls of exclusion thus become walls of inclusion by writing into the public record the historical contributions of mostly poor, forgotten people with a psychiatric diagnosis which has been previously unrecognized.鈥�

A professor of聽critical disability studies聽and health ethics in 91亚色's , Reaume has given dozens of tours of the wall over the years (see YFile, April 19). On Saturday, he will give yet another tour of the wall, along with all nine plaques, following the dedication ceremony.

鈥淭he nine plaques are also arranged thematically along the length of all three walls to let people conduct their own self-guided wall tours to learn about patients past whenever they want to,鈥� says Reaume.

The event is sponsored by the Psychiatric Survivor Archives of聽Toronto and聽CAMH, as well as many community donors.

For more information, call CAMH at聽416-595-6015 or the Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto at 416-661-9975.

The post Professor Geoffrey Reaume to unveil memorial wall plaques at CAMH dedicated to patient labourers appeared first on Research & Innovation.