Financial Factors: Mental Health Service Access by Funding Pathway
Diving deeper into national trends of mental health service access, this report explores how often and how frequently mental health supports were accessed, providing insight into how care pathways are impacted by how that care is funded.
The latest findings from MHRC highlight that the groups who reported greater needs for mental health support often also encountered significant barriers to accessing care. Some of these groups have been the focus of previous reports by Mental Health Research Canada, such as youth, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and individuals facing financial challenges.
Even when they accessed support, some of these groups were less likely to say that the services they accessed met their needs.
Key Findings:
One in seven (14%) Canadians accessed mental health supports in the past year. Of these, 53% chose privately funded services, while 32% relied on public health insurance.
More than half (56%) of Canadians who reported accessing mental health supports through their public health insurance reported they were still accessing care (56%). In contrast, less than a quarter (21%) of Canadians who reported accessing free online self-help supports said they were still using this service.
For Canadians who report still accessing a mental health service, privately-funded supports (out of pocket or compensated by health insurance) remain used more frequently, compared to community-based and public funded services.
These findings underscore that access to mental health care in Canada varies significantly depending on the type of funding for the services. Publicly funded services, while accessible to a larger number of people, tend to be used less frequently and for shorter duration compared to privately funded services.
