Specialty mental health care improves patients' outcomes: findings from a nationwide program to monitor the quality of care for patients with substance use disorders.

In 1984 all Member States of the European Region agreed on a Pan European Health Policy, popularly known as Targets for Health for All (Health for all targets, 1991).Among the 38 targets agreed, Target 31 states (table I).More recently the first meeting of national directors/officials of mental health services in the European Member States stated that “there should be greater concern about the quality of mental health care in each Member State, and mechanisms must be established to guarantee a quality service. These include: a.encouraging mental health care professionals to develop systems to monitor the quality of care;b.independent inspection of services;c.the participation of consumers and relatives;d.improving the basic and continuing training of mental health professionals as well as their working conditions;Special attention should be paid to the quality of care provided to those with severe long-term mental disorder, the elderly, children and adolescents. Barriers to care should be avoided, particularly for people with long-term mental disabilities.”The need for quality development and evaluation differ quite significantly across the European Region as a result of the existing differences in the pattern of mental health services and priority policies to be implemented.

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Service Use and Unmet Needs for Substance Use and Mental Disorders in Canada

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0706743717714467 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 62 (8) ◽

pp. 551-559 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Karen Urbanoski ◽

Dakota Inglis ◽

Scott Veldhuizen

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Substance Use ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Substance Use Disorders ◽

Health Survey ◽

Service Use ◽

Unmet Needs ◽

Specialist Care ◽

Informal Supports

Objective: To investigate patterns and predictors of help seeking and met/unmet needs for mental health care in a national population health survey. Method: Participants were respondents to the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey on Mental Health (CCHS-MH; n = 25,133). We used regression to identify the diagnostic and sociodemographic predictors of the use of informal supports, primary care, and specialist care, as well as perceived unmet needs. Results: Eleven percent of Canadians reported using professionally led services for mental health or substance use in 2012, while another 9% received informal supports. Two-thirds of people with substance use disorders did not receive any care, and among those who did, informal supports were most common. Seventy-four percent of people with mood/anxiety disorders and 88% of those with co-occurring disorders did access services, most commonly specialist mental health care. Men, older people, members of ethnocultural minorities, those not born in Canada, those with lower education, and those with higher incomes were less likely to receive care. Unmet needs were higher among people with substance use disorders. Conclusions: Gaps in services continue to exist for some potentially vulnerable population subgroups. Policy and practice solutions are needed to address these unmet needs. In particular, the convergence of research pointing to gaps in the availability and accessibility of high-quality services for substance use in Canada demands attention.

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