Case studies
Social Movement Action Framework
Building Public Visibility and Promoting Best Practices at Sandy Lake First Nation Authority
A case study on public visibility from one of RNAO's Indigenous-focused BPSOs, Sandy Lake First Nation Authority
Sandy Lake Health Authority is a designate, Indigenous-focused Best Practice Spotlight Organization® (BPSO®) that manages health programs in Sandy Lake First Nation. Sandy Lake is a fly-in remote First Nation community in Northwestern Ontario. The community is located 600 km northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario and 450 km northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Sandy Lake First Nation, 2023).
Sandy Lake First Nation Logo and nursing station [Shared with permission by Sandy Lake First Nation Health Authority]
Sandy Lake Health Authority has been implementing various best practice guidelines (BPG) from the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) since the beginning of its designation in 2021. These implemented BPGs have included: Assessment and Interventions for Perinatal Depression, Person- and Family-Centred Care, and Promoting Smoking Reduction and Cessation with Indigenous Peoples of Reproductive Age and their Communities.
The change team at Sandy Lake has been building public visibility and promoting best practices within its community by:
Posters created by the Sandy Lake team to promote events and build public visibility of BPSO; [Shared with permission by Sandy Lake First Nation Health Authority]
- promoting BPSO and best practice initiatives such on the local community radio show, announcements on internal media page, word-of mouth, and on-going conversations with health care providers,
- holding several events (e.g., mental health support for prenatal clients, health fairs) to support community wellness and engagement as allowed by pandemic restrictions,
- creating eye-catching posters to promote the events,
- using a closed Facebook page and messenger to communicate with prenatal clients, and
- displaying BPSO logo on Facebook, posters and other materials.
As a result of their collective action, Sandy Lake First Nation Authority has been able to build public visibility, meaning and awareness of their best practice initiatives within their community and region. As an inaugural member of the Indigenous-focused BPSO program, Sandy Lake First Nation has also leveraged provincial and international networks to share their community approaches to promoting prenatal health and wellness with others.
Using images and messages for a patient safety campaign
The Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s #ConquerSilence campaign uses images and powerful messaging to frame patient safety issues. Read more in this case study.
The Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s #ConquerSilence campaign uses images and powerful messaging to frame patient safety issues. The campaign includes webinars, podcasts, social media content and a communications toolkit.
Increasing visibility to advance the rights of Deaf children
A community coalition in Los Angeles, California took collective action to advocate for the rights of Deaf children in accessing child abuse prevention and treatment services. he coalition took multiple steps to increase visibility, spread awareness and gain support. Read more in this case study.
A community coalition in Los Angeles, California took collective action to advocate for the rights of Deaf children in accessing child abuse prevention and treatment services. The coalition took multiple steps to increase visibility, spread awareness and gain support. Some examples:
- one of the member organizations wrote an article published in a magazine for the Deaf community advocating for the protection of Deaf children.
- A presentation by coalition members was made at a local synagogue that included members of the Deaf community.
- A local social event included a focus on the collective actions of the coalition and how attendees could financially support their efforts.
These activities drew further attention to the collective action being taken and the urgency for change (Embry and Grossman, 2006).
