IYS LHS Summit Reflections
The inaugural IYS Learning Health Systems (LHS) Summit took place on October 8 and 9, 2024 in Winnipeg. The groundbreaking event brought together over 150 young people, health service providers, researchers, and policy makers from coast to coast to coast — to advance a shared vision of a multi-IYS learning health system (LHS).
A learning health system is an approach where research and service networks (like Integrated Youth Services) continuously integrate research, data, and experience to generate evidence and knowledge. This, in turn, is continually embedded in and applied to processes, policies and practices to innovate and improve health equity, service delivery and cost.
Image by: Patrick Gibson, CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction.
The event was organized by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA), in collaboration with the IYS LHS Summit Program Committee.
For over a decade, CIHR has been dedicated to developing a customized system of support that empowers young people to take charge of their own journeys. That is what IYS is all about. With its partners, CIHR funded the first IYS Network (ACCESS Open Minds) in 2014 and has announced more than $59 million in funding and supported research and data networks in six provinces and one pan-Canadian Indigenous network through the Integrated Youth Services Network of Networks (IYS-Net). In total, there will be over $80 million invested in research, evaluation, and data to support IYS.
The IYS LHS Summit fostered a space where diverse perspectives and expertise could come together to set the stage for collaboration on the development of a multi-IYS LHS. Read below to hear the reflections from four individuals who attended the event from across Canada.
Event Learnings and Reflections
Please introduce yourself and tell us about your role with IYS.
“My name is Breanne Johnson and I use they/them pronouns.
I have been a member of the advisory board at Huddle South Central in Winnipeg, Manitoba since the first meeting in September 2021. I am also working alongside Dr. Roberta Woodgate as a Co-Investigator in her 5-year study that is focused around improving services for youth accessing IYS in Manitoba.”
— Breanne, Manitoba
-
My name is Thish–I’m from Kelowna, BC and I was a part of the second cohort of Foundry BC’s Youth and Family Ambassador Program. This pilot project was created to deepen the engagement between youth and family caregivers in IYS related initiatives, and brought together folks from across Canada to engage in dialogue, project development, and community building on provincial and national levels
-
Hi! My name is Kendra Monk, and I use She/Her pronouns. I am the Clinical Practice and Service Integration Lead with the Huddle Backbone team, based out of United Way Winnipeg. I provide clinically focused leadership, expertise, and guidance to furthering the Huddle IYS Initiative’s shared vision of integrated, youth focused mental health, substance use and overall wellness services. Prior to joining the Backbone team in the last few months, I was the Coordinator for the Huddle NorWest youth hub site for 4.5 years.
-
My name is Lori Wozney I am the Sun Life Chair in Youth Mental Health at Dalhousie University and the Scientific Lead for IYS in Nova Scotia. I support research integration and strategy with the backbone team.
Image by: Patrick Gibson, CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
What interested you about the opportunity to attend the IYS LHS Summit?
“As an inaugural conference, I was curious to see how organizations across Canada brought their learnings to share and grow together. I was also drawn to the strong involvement and co-creation by youth. Given that young people can contribute so much value to this space, it was great to see the centering of our voices.”
— Thish, British Columbia
-
I enjoy taking every opportunity I can to learn from and network with individuals that share the same passions and interests as myself, so the IYS LHS Summit seemed like a perfect place to do that. I believe hearing multiple perspectives and diverse experiences is incredibly beneficial to growing as a person and a professional, especially when working in fields where your work has a significant impact on those you serve.
-
The opportunity to connect with colleagues working in the same field across Canada, and the chance to hear from their experience including their successes, challenges, and future growth possibilities. I think working in this field and with youth requires a certain type of energy, passion, and commitment, and it’s always invigorating to be surrounded by like-minded individuals who are just as excited about the work!
-
One of the best ways to learn something new is being surrounded by other learners. I wanted to be at the summit to hear and learn about what others are doing, share what we are learning and reconnect to the purpose and values of IYS. It was also great to have diverse voices from each network so you aren’t always hearing from the same people.
Image by: Patrick Gibson, CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
What is your key takeaway from the Summit or highlight of the trip?
“The youth panel was so eye-opening. When you hear their stories, their hopes, their frustrations with systems and structures and social determinants of health it cuts through all the talk and jargon and academic double-speak. They brought heart and honesty into the meeting. A clear reminder why a learning health system for IYS at its core requires people being committed to youth-led action.”
— Lori, Nova Scotia
-
I have taken away that building a robust IYS requires many cycles of iterative work, and that it is important to be thoughtfully reflective to ensure systems and research and respectfully reflecting the interests of the youth it is supposed to serve.
-
One of my many highlights from the Summit was the unique experience of getting to meet youth and professionals working in IYS all across Canada, it felt so special to be able to hear their stories and learn from them. My key takeaway was that spaces revolving around youth truly can’t exist without youth voices; one of my favourite quotes is “nothing about us, without us”.
-
As I am new to my role with the Huddle Backbone team but not new to IYS, I think this was a unique opportunity for me to be immersed in the Learning Health System approach and understanding it at a broader initiative-wide level. I will absolutely take away the teachings from youth, Elders, and Dr. Marcia Anderson the most - and the meaning that I take from them, which is very much in line with the model of a Learning Health System.
Image by: Danni Mesojednik, Huddle
What did you learn that made you feel validated, more curious or challenged the way you previously thought about something?
“I especially appreciated the session from Dr. Marcia Anderson, and Session 4A - Designing and Using Data and Research to Inform Equity in Service Delivery, as well as teachings from Elders Martha Peet and Mary Wilson. I continue to reflect on the takeaway that the Learning Health System is not a new concept but an old one, and something that ‘Indigenous peoples have been doing all their lives through storytelling’ (taken from my notes, and paraphrased from Cliff, I believe!).”
— Kendra, Manitoba
-
Participating in the youth panel validated my experiences and frustrations with inequities in the system. Although it was disheartening to hear that some struggles exist across the span of the nation, it was fantastic to share the solidarity and desire to improve these systems for the next generation. I felt empowered in speaking to the influential voices in the room about our shared concerns.
-
I don’t have much experience working in research (which is the topic that the Summit was mainly focused around), so learning about the importance of research in IYS hubs was very interesting to me. I’m excited to continue to learn more about how the data collected through IYS research is used to create more equitable and accessible IYS hubs in my work with Dr. Roberta Woodgate.
-
I left being really curious about how we are going to translate all the data being collected as part of research into actionable knowledge that is useful for community-based agencies. Data literacy, data infrastructure, youth engagement in making meaning of the data, data regulations and ethics, the need for partnerships to collect and manage data ethically. Curious about how we will navigate these complexities and how the collaboration centre may play a role.
Image courtesy of Huddle
How will you bring back the knowledge you learned to your IYS initiative and/or jurisdiction/ community?
“I will be bringing my knowledge back to my IYS initiative (Huddle South Central) in our next meeting by sharing my experiences at the Summit, such as the people I met, the things I learned, the aspects that I liked and disliked, etc. This event added fuel to the passionate fire in me, making me crave even more opportunities to learn and grow as an advocate for holistic health and services for youth.”
— Breanne, Manitoba
-
I hope to continue to meaningfully contribute to the ongoing work of Foundry BC and champion the youth voice in the development of new systems and research in the spaces of Integrated Youth Services.
-
I’ve asked to debrief my (many!) pages of notes together with the Huddle Backbone team to discuss all of these key moments together - I don’t want to lose sight of them. I also plan to share these notes/takeaways with the Huddle NorWest team, of which I am still a part. I wish that additional staff from all Huddle sites could have taken part as it was a valuable learning opportunity I greatly appreciated!
-
Each member of the team who attended is bringing back insights. Our Youth Advisors were excited for their next meeting with the Youth Advisory Council to share new ideas, the research and evaluation team members will be applying learnings to our data collection and evaluation plans. There have already been meetings since we have returned with partners in other provinces to talk about collaborations and sharing of resources so we don’t reinvent the wheel.
Gratitude
The IYS LHS Summit was held on Treaty 1 territory in what is now known as Manitoba. This land is a historic gathering place for the Anishinaabeg, Inninewak, Anishinewak, Dakota Oyate, and Denesuline, and the birthplace and homeland of the Red River Métis.
Thank you to the team at Huddle for their invaluable support and expertise as the host IYS network. Their guidance was instrumental in shaping the event program and enhancing the overall experience.
Attending the Summit was made possible through a financial contribution from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Bell-GBF Partnership. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of CIHR and the Bell-GBF Partnership.
