Pathways to Promoting Mental Health: A 2015 Survey of Ontario Public Health Units

The CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre based within CAMH’s Provincial System Support Program is pleased to launch the report Pathways to Promoting Mental Health: A 2015 Survey of Ontario Public Health Units.  This report highlights the results of a 2015 provincial survey conducted as a partnership between the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Health Promotion Division and the CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre. With participation from all 36 Ontario public health units (PHUs), the report documents current mental health promotion (MHP) activities in public health being delivered for Ontarians of all ages and stages and identifies specific MHP activities occurring for adults 18 years and older.

Key findings from the report show that there is a substantial amount of MHP work underway, with wide variation in specific activities. Several characteristics of these activities are worth highlighting

• All 36 PHUs were engaged in MHP for Ontarians of all ages and stages.
• MHP activities for adults were concentrated among new parents/postnatal mothers, parents/guardians of children and youth and pregnant women with fewer activities for young adults, seniors, newcomers/immigrants/refugees, LGBTTTIQ individuals, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis (FNIM) groups
• Groups of PHUs (i.e. peer groups) with urban characteristics reported more activities than other groups of PHUS
• 69% of all MHP activities involved partnerships that contributed service delivery, content/subject matter expertise or community engagement efforts. Common partners include mental health and substance use agencies (46%), followed by multi-service community agencies (39%), primary care facilities (28%) and other diverse partners

In addition, the report identifies five recommendations to help identify mechanisms and opportunities to better integrate MHP as part of PHU practice.

You may preview the full report, English/French summaries and infographic here: https://www.porticonetwork.ca/web/camh-hprc/pathways-to-mhp