Authors (including presenting author) :
Lo SL(1), Chan MF(2), Chan SF(2), Au WC(1), Wong KK(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Occupational Therapy Department,(2)Health Resource Centre, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
The Occupational Therapy Department and Health Resource Centre of United Christian Hospital have embarked on a project titled “I am the Legend of my Life” in 2018. It served to bring out confidence of our PIR and the public’s understanding and acceptance of them. It has been found that youngsters would have a lower level of knowledge about mental health problems. Furthermore, research showed that video intervention could be a potentially useful tool for de-stigmatization of mental illness among young people.
Objectives :
This project was to promote anti-stigma to local youth community through psychoeducation, social contact and co-production of de-stigmatization video with people with lived experience of mental illness – Person in Recovery (PIR).
Methodology :
PIR attending psychiatric day hospital and students of secondary schools and tertiary institutions were recruited. In the first phase, our PIR shared their recovery stories and presented meanings of de-stigmatization to them in form of creative art whereas the students narrated their experiences and reflections. In the second phase, the PIR and students deepen their understanding through the process of co-production of recovery song and two mini films. In the third phase, our PIR and students presented the co-created media to the community to advocate the concept of de-stigmatization and arouse the social awareness on mental health and stigmatization through public sharing forum. Afterwards, the co-created videos were uploaded to YouTube for public access.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 43 local students and 15 PIR participated in the first two phases of the project. There were 219 public people attended the sharing forum. After that, 128 questionnaires were collected. Over 90% of them showed satisfaction about the event and 95% indicated that they were better informed of the lived experience of PIR and they had increased understanding and acceptance towards PIR. The PIR found themselves having reduced self-stigma through reframing their identity and disclosing their illness proud. Furthermore, the latest hit rate of the song and video clips are 997, 1100, and 332 respectively. Although the preliminary results are encouraging, we need to adopt a more systematic study of the effectiveness of the program by experimental design.
