This panel will focus on the topic of research as a tool for social change in mental health and substance use settings. We are excited to welcome Dr. Ethsi Stewart, Shauna Cronin, Shawn Fisk (from CAPSA) and Dr. Benedikt Fischer as our panelists for this session, moderated by Dr. Christopher Canning.

The traditional notion that researchers must remain neutral is being challenged by a growing recognition that researchers must also engage with the public, policymakers, and communities to ensure that findings lead to change.

Mental health and substance use research has direct implications for public health and social justice. Yet, despite robust evidence supporting harm reduction, trauma-informed care, and structural interventions, for example, research and other forms of evidence are increasingly sidelined in favour of political ideologies, economic interests, and misinformation. Researchers working in these fields must ask: What is our role in ensuring that evidence drives action? How do we engage with communities and policymakers in ways that uphold research integrity and social responsibility? What does social responsibility look like for publicly-funded researchers in mental health and substance use settings?

This panel will explore the intersection of research and advocacy with a focus on how researchers can communicate findings, engage with communities, and advocate for policies and practices that reflect the best available evidence, including lived expertise, experiential knowledge, and Indigenous epistemologies. Panelists will discuss challenges in bridging research and policy/practice, and whether or not researchers have an ethical imperative to engage in advocacy for informing social change.