Jean Harvey Director, Canadian Population Health Initiative

1. Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health and Resilience from a Population Health Perspective Jean Harvey Director, Canadian Population Health Initiative Canadian Institute for Health Information Presentation at Canadian Public Health Association 2008 Halifax, Nova Scotia June 2-4, 2008

2. Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) CPHI’s Mission: • To foster a better understanding of factors that affect the health of individuals and communities; and • To contribute to the development of policies that reduce inequities and improve the health and well-being of Canadians.

3. Policy Synthesis CPHI’s Strategic Functions Knowledge Generation Knowledge Transfer Knowledge Exchange

4. CPHI’s Key Themes 2007-2010 Mental Health and Resilience Reducing Gaps in Health Place and Health Promoting Healthy Weights

5. Improving the Health of Canadians Report Series on Mental Health Series of three reports on the theme of mental health and how mental health is linked to the determinants of health • Two reports will focus on segments of the population often identified as ‘vulnerable’ • Final report will focus on the construct of positive mental health

6. Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health and Homelessness Purpose of Report Examines the links between mental health, mental illness and homelessness Released: August 30, 2007

7. Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health and Homelessness How the Report is Organized Section One Presents compiled estimates of the prevalence of both homelessness and self-reported mental health issues among the homeless across Canada Section Two Looks at the effectiveness of two types of related policies and programs—housing and community mental health programs—and their role in promoting mental health and helping people find a way out of homelessness

8. Key Findings:Mental Health and Homelessness • Relative to comparison groups of non-homeless individuals, recent research involving the homeless indicates a tendency for compromised mental health as measured by: • Higher levels of stress, less effective coping strategies, lower self-esteem and lower levels of social support • These factors have been associated with various outcomes, including depressive symptoms, substance abuse and suicidal behaviours

9. Key Findings:Mental Illness and Homelessness Compared to the general population, recent research on the homeless population indicates a higher prevalence of mental illness, substance abuse and suicidal behaviours. • In Toronto, 6% of 300 shelter users reported a psychotic disorder, primarily schizophrenia; 68% reported a lifetime diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence • Homeless individuals with a concurrent disorder - both a mental illness and a substance abuse disorder - are more likely to remain homeless longer than other homeless individuals • A 2006 survey of youth across B.C. indicated that compared to 4% of males and 10% of females in schools, 15% of males and 30% of females who were street-involved reported having attempted suicide at least once in the previous 12 months.

10. Key Findings: Top Reason for Emergency Department Visits and Inpatient Hospitalizations, 2005-2006

11. Policies, Programs and Homelessness: What Studies Show Housing Programs • A ‘Housing First’ approach is associated with improved health outcomes and less hospital use among the homeless with mental illnesses and addictions compared to approaches that provide treatment first Community Mental Health Programs • A number of community mental health programs with an outreach component are effective at promoting positive mental health among the homeless (for example, Assertive Community Treatment – ACT)

12. Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health, Delinquency and Criminal Activity Purpose of Report Examines the links between mental health, delinquency, criminal activity and their various determinants Released: April 29, 2008

13. Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health, Delinquency and Criminal Activity How the Report is Organized Section One • Looks at what factors related to mental health within the individual, family, school/peer and community contexts are related to youth delinquency in either a protective or risk capacity Section Two • Looks at people with a mental illness who were or are involved with the criminal justice system (that is, in a mental health bed with a criminal history or in a correctional facility with a mental illness)

14. Mental Health, Delinquency and Criminal Activity: Protective Factors

15. Mental Health, Delinquency and Criminal Activity: Risk Factors

16. Preventing Delinquency: Policies and Programs There is a link between various skills-training programs within the family and school contexts with improved mental health outcomes and reduced delinquency among youth. • Project Early Intervention • The Banyan Community Services SNAP™ Under-12 Outreach Project • Syracuse Family Development Research Project • Seattle Social Development Project • Montréal Longitudinal Experimental Study

17. Characteristics of Patients with Criminal Involvement Admitted to a Mental Health Bed New analyses of data from CIHI’s Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS) database show that from April 2006 to March 2007, of 30606 unique patients admitted to a mental health bed • 9% cited some current involvement with the justice system as the reason for their admission; 28% reported having a criminal history • Compared to non-forensic patients, forensic patients tended to be younger and a higher proportion were male, never married, and had lower education levels and less stable housing • Compared to patients without a criminal history, those with a criminal history reported significantly more risk factors at discharge including: lack of medication adherence, not having a support person in place for personal safety, unstable housing

18. Mental Illness Among Youth and Adults in Correctional Facilities Most people with a mental illness or compromised mental health do not commit crimes However, information from various sources indicates there is a higher prevalence of certain types of mental illnesses among incarcerated youth and adults compared to the general population, including: • Psychotic disorders (schizophrenia) • Major depressive disorder • Anxiety disorders • Substance abuse disorder

19. Programs for People Involved with the Criminal Justice System Diversion Programs • Intervene during the various points at which persons with a mental illness may come into contact with the criminal justice system • Participants in diversion programs spend less time in jail and have more involvement with mental health professionals and community mental health services than individuals not involved in such programs Many jurisdictions offer mental health-related programming for offenders in institutional settings, such as substance abuse treatment; violence prevention; stress and anger management • Preliminary evaluations speak to the effectiveness of violence prevention and anger management programs offered in correctional facilities • Little is known about the long-term impacts on mental health–related outcomes or the accessibility of programs to offenders, particularly among those with mental health issues

20. Improving the Health of Canadians: Promoting Positive Mental Health Purpose of Report Examines the construct of positive mental health Looks at the determinants of positive mental health Presents information on the Canadian public’s views of mental health Highlights Canadian and international policies and programs with a focus on positive mental health Release Date: February 2009

21. Other CPHI Work in the Area of Mental Health Workshops that reflect content of given mental health report Mental Health and Homelessness workshop: May 27th Collection of Papers: “What Makes a Community Mentally Healthy?” Available on CPHI’s website July 2008 Webcast video Webcast on Mental Health, Delinquency and Criminal Activity held May 6 Methodology papers specific to each report Literature search methodology Data and analysis methodology Policy scanning methodology

22. It’s Your Turn cphi@cihi.ca www.cihi.ca/cphi