Fact Sheet – Access to Mental Health Services for Children and Youth

[ Press Release 2012-08 ]

About the Program:

CIHR's Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH) promotes and supports research that improves the health and development of mothers, infants, children, youth and families in Canada and throughout the world.

The Access to Mental Health Services funding program has two components: Knowledge Synthesis grants and Partnerships for Health Systems Improvements (PHSI) grants. The purpose of the program is to address the issues related to access to mental health services for children and youth by creating knowledge, and by developing and testing models that will ultimately improve access. Models can include: programs, initiatives, interventions that provide mental health services for children and youth in schools, communities, hospitals and other locations. The term "mental health service" has been used to describe any service where the explicit objective is to address the emotional, psychological or behavioural problems of children and youth. These problems may be identified within diverse sectors, including health, community and social services, education, child welfare and justice. Services may also be offered within these sectors based on a variety of preventive or "treatment" (harm reduction) approaches.

The Knowledge Synthesis priority announcement will address access from a systems service model and program perspective (rather than a clinical treatment perspective that focuses on the efficacy of specific interventions on discrete problems). The objective of the synthesis grant is to synthesize evidence concerning enablers of access, existing models in Canada and internationally, and policy enablers of access.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a strong partner and supporter of IHDCYH for this initiative. The mission of the MHCC is to promote mental health in Canada, and work with stakeholders to change the attitudes of Canadians toward mental health problems, and to improve services and support.

About the 3 funded projects:

Depression Screening and Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

THOMBS, Brett D (Jewish General Hospital (Montreal));
This research will focus on how depression is detected and screened in schools and medical settings for children and adolescents, and if the treatments and screening itself are contributing to better health outcomes.
Funding: $99,977 for one year.

Improving the Mental Health of Canadian Children and Adolescents: A Research Synthesis

BENNETT, Kathryn J (McMaster University);
This research will focus on providing an online tool, to assist mental health service providers to access the most up-to-date, evidence-based information that will help them make better decisions about mental health policy, programs, and service delivery for children and adolescents.
Funding: $100,000 for one year.

E-Mental Health Services for Children and Youth: An Evidence Synthesis of Qualitative and Quantitative Research on Availability, Effectiveness, Cost-Effectiveness, Acceptability, and Equity

METGE, Colleen J (University of Manitoba);
This research will focus on looking at the range of e-mental health services available (interventions delivered using Internet technologies) and identifying whether they are working well, being effectively used and fully available to all Canadian children, to better inform decision makers.
Funding: $99,999 for one year.

Total funding for all three projects: $299,976 for one year. Funding will start on March 1, 2012.

The funding of these projects are part of the Government of Canada's ongoing support for research that aims to improve the mental health of Canadians. Since 2006, the Government has invested $315 million in mental health research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.