Researchers at Durham College (DC) are partnering with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and the Abilities Centre in Whitby to examine barriers to exercise for forensic patients and how community-based exercise could impact their physical and mental health.

Dr. Erin Dancey, a faculty member in DC’s Fitness and Health Promotion program, is leading the three-year project through the college’s Social Impact Hub. The research is made possible through a $350,000 College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR) which was announced on September 13.

“We’re interested in the impact of exercise on not just physical fitness, but as a means to increase social connections and improve mental health and wellness and quality of life,” said Dancey. “We met with Ontario Shores and they were already trying to think about ways to get their patients exercising more and the Abilities Centre is close and aims to provide an inclusive space for all individuals in the community, so it all came together.”

The overall goal of the project is to develop exercised-based treatment options that will reduce health disparities and inequities experienced by Canada’s forensic patient population, people who have been found not criminally responsible for an offence or unfit to stand trial by the courts due to mental illness and are hospitalized and receiving treatment to improve their mental health.

Forensic patients with mental illness are more sedentary, have reduced levels of physical fitness and are at a higher risk for obesity as compared to the general population for several reasons including the impact of medication on metabolic health and barriers to exercise while accessing care in a hospital setting.

While other studies have demonstrated the benefits of exercise for people living with mental illness, there is limited research focusing specifically on forensic patients.

“It’s interesting, important research for patients in an institutional, hospitalized setting because it has the potential to improve their quality of life,” said Dancey.

The first phase of the research project will look at barriers to engaging in community-based exercise for patients receiving forensic psychiatry care at Ontario Shores. In the second phase, patients participating in the study will engage in community-based exercise at the Abilities Centre and the researchers will investigate the impact on physical fitness, quality of life, social isolation, mental health and sleep quality.

At DC, Dancey will work with Faculty of Heath Sciences faculty member Dr. David Copithorne and Jennifer Bedford, a faculty member in the Faculty of Media, Art and Design. The project also comes with experiential learning opportunities for students from both faculties.

“We will hire Fitness and Health Promotion students as well as Community Mental Health students as research assistants so they will gain experience with the research ethics approval process, data collection, fitness assessment and prescription, and working with a vulnerable population and community partners,” said Dancey. “We’re also going to hire Media, Art and Design students to help create a video outlining the project findings as well as infographics that will share our results with a broader audience.”

Benefits of the research may include creating a low-cost treatment for people living with mental illness that can be used in combination with medication which could be expanded to patients in the general psychiatry and outpatient clinics at Ontario Shores and elsewhere. It also provides the Abilities Centre and other similar community recreation centres with new tools and ways to support a marginalized group, people living with mental illness.