The impact of chronic health conditions and student mental health toolkit is intended for post secondary faculty, staff (front line, supporting and administration), and any other student-facing workers. The Accommodations and Accessibility toolkit by CICMH is a complementary toolkit which covers the following topics that may be relevant:
- Definitions and models of disability
- Ableism and stigma
- Intersectionality of disability
- What undue hardship and duty to inquire means
- The roles and responsibilities of accommodation
- Universal design for learning
- Recommendations for accessibility and accommodation
The goal of the chronic health conditions toolkit is to bring awareness, education, and recommendations based on the unique challenges students with chronic health conditions face. This toolkit aims to equip Ontario post-secondary campuses with knowledge to support students with chronic health conditions within their academic and mental well-being journey. The information gathered in this toolkit is sourced from both literature online as well as the insight provided from post secondary staff with experience.
We recommend using this toolkit in a way that makes sense for your needs. You are welcome to print the full toolkit or any specific section you need.
- Part I builds knowledge on the experiences and challenges of having chronic health conditions
- Part II discusses key actions to address some of these challenges
- Part III is the appendix which provides links to additional resources
This toolkit is a living document and will be updated with any current and new knowledge. If you have any questions or feedback regarding this toolkit, you can email the project lead Tarin Karunagoda at tkarunagoda@campusmenathealth.ca or info@campusmentalhealth.ca.
Disclaimer
This toolkit is meant for educational and awareness purposes only. Any health concerns and diagnoses must be done through a health professional. This toolkit does not intend to promote certain modalities over others.
Additionally, this toolkit does not provide an exhaustive list of chronic health conditions students may face, nor all the possible impacts and actions required to support students with chronic health conditions. We hope to equip readers with an introductory perspective on students with chronic health conditions and what their needs are, especially for readers who have little to no familiarity with chronic health conditions.
We want to also acknowledge that this toolkit largely uses research based on the medical model and Western worldviews. There are important cross-cultural discussions related to chronic health conditions that are beyond the scope of this toolkit but merit further attention and reflection.
Positionality Statement
This toolkit was created in collaboration with post-secondary staff and students who have lived and/or professional experience with chronic health conditions, post-secondary mental health, and accessibility needs of students. The project lead and primary author, Tarin Karunagoda, brings lived experience of chronic health conditions, as well as an educational background of biomedical science and neuroscience.
Acknowledgements
This toolkit was created collaboratively with a variety of contributions from many post-secondary staff and students, as well as the CICMH team.
Isabella Spensieri
Bindia Darshan
Isabella Spensieri
Bindia Darshan
Carly Schulz
Sara Pudim
Emily Ellwood
Kerry Morrison
Yumna Farooq
Yumna Farooq
Sarina Wheeler
Shehryar Saharan
Dr. Zara Khawaja
We are also grateful to our post-secondary and community partners who filled out our toolkit needs survey as well as attended our regional forums for informing us of the needs and providing important information for the content of this toolkit.
