Question

Write literature review on SHOULD THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INCREASE FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH AND TREATMENT?

maximum of two pages.please provide answer.

Answer 1

Mental illness – including alcoholism and substance misuse affects 6.7 million Canadians – 20 per cent of our population, yet many Canadians do not have access to the treatment they need. Nearly four thousand Canadians die by suicide each year, and one thousand of them are our children. We must do more to address the health, economic and social justice issue of our time.” - Dr. Catherine Zahn, President and CEO of CAMH.Eighty-five per cent of Canadians said mental-health services are among the most underfunded in the health-care system, according to a new survey commissioned by the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The survey accompanies a national policy paper, which calls for new legislation to address unmet mental-health needs and bring mental-health care into balance with physical health care. It also found 86 per cent of respondents agreed the government of Canada should fund mental health at the same level as physical health.More than half (53 per cent) of Canadians said they consider anxiety and depression to be epidemic in Canada. Yet Canada dedicates only 7.2 per cent of its health-care budget to mental health.While up to 80 per cent of Canadians said they rely on their family physicians to meet their mental-health care needs, those services are limited, noted the report. It said evidence-based health care provided by addiction counsellors, psychologists, social workers and specialized peer support workers is provided in other G7 countries, but these services aren’t guaranteed through Canada’s public system. As a result, Canadians spend almost a billion dollars ($950 million) on counselling services each year 30 per cent of it out of pocket.

“Canadians are suffering from health conditions that are preventable or manageable with the right supports,” said Dr. Smith. “By adopting and promoting a stepped-care approach to mental-health service delivery that matches people to the right services and supports to meet their needs, Canadians will have better access to the right care at the right time.”So government should spend more on mental health to improve health condition of the all mental illness patients.the imbalance in research funding for mental health compared to physical health should be addressed. Canada needs sustained research investment in mental health to spur innovation, better translate scientific knowledge into practice and develop therapies that are appropriate, effective and that promote treatment acceptance for people with mental illnesses according to survey.