W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z, Canada.
W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z, Canada.
Soc Sci Med. 2022 Jan;292:114578. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114578. Epub 2021 Nov 20.
Contact!Unload, a research-based theatre production, portrays veterans experiencing mental health challenges and overcoming them through therapeutic enactment. It was performed eight times by veteran performers in 2017 for audiences in two Canadian cities comprised of civilians and military-connected personnel and their families (n = 525).
Drawing upon qualitative and quantitative data sources, this paper evaluates the immediate and longer-term impacts of Contact!Unload as a knowledge translation intervention for audience members.
Our findings suggest that the performance: 1) improved knowledge of mental health concerns and symptoms that some veterans experience when transitioning to civilian life, 2) increased knowledge of the need for mental health supports and care for veterans, 3) sustained impacts on awareness and knowledge six months after the play and 4) sparked dialogue and actions after the show for some audience members. Moreover, theatre was seen as a powerful medium to engage audience members both cognitively and affectively in the topic.
Research-based theatre has significant potential as a knowledge translation intervention for mental health topics. The work also points to the untapped potential of using RbT to engage audience members in a mental health literacy intervention. Future work is needed to study how to effectively combine research-based theatre with intervention design frameworks and other mental health literacy interventions.
基于研究的戏剧作品《接触！减压》描绘了经历心理健康挑战的退伍军人通过治疗性表演来克服这些挑战。2017 年，由退伍军人演员在加拿大的两个城市为平民和与军队有关的人员及其家属（n=525）观众演出了八场。
本文利用定性和定量数据源，评估了《接触！减压》作为知识转化干预措施对观众的即时和长期影响。
我们的研究结果表明，该演出：1）提高了对一些退伍军人在向平民生活过渡时所经历的心理健康问题和症状的认识，2）提高了对退伍军人需要心理健康支持和护理的认识，3）在演出六个月后对意识和知识仍有持续影响，4）引发了一些观众在演出后的对话和行动。此外，戏剧被视为一种强大的媒介，可以让观众在认知和情感上都参与到主题中。
基于研究的戏剧在心理健康主题的知识转化干预方面具有巨大的潜力。这项工作还指出了利用 RbT 来吸引观众参与心理健康素养干预的潜力。未来需要进一步研究如何将基于研究的戏剧与干预设计框架和其他心理健康素养干预措施有效结合。
