Health Fact Sheets
Mental health care needs, 2018
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Key Findings
- In 2018, roughly 5.3 million people in Canada mentioned they needed some help for their mental health in the previous year.
- Almost half of these Canadians either had their needs partially met with some help (1.2 million) or had needs that were fully unmet (1.1 million people).
- Canadians who needed help for their mental health, but were without a regular health care provider were more likely to report unmet or partially met needs (60.3%), compared to those who did have a regular health care provider (41.2%).
- The most frequently reported reasons for having unmet or partially met needs were related to not knowing where to go, being too busy or not being able to afford to pay.
- Almost one-quarter of respondents (22.6%) who had unmet or partially met needs reported that they preferred to manage their needs on their own.
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The perception of needs for mental health care in the Canadian population, the degree to which those needs are met, and any perceived barriers to care are key elements in understanding help-seeking behaviour and treatment needs for mental health issues.Note The 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey included questions about different kinds of mental health care that respondents received or felt they needed.
In 2018, 17.8% of Canadians aged 12 and older (roughly 5.3 million people) needed some help with their mental health, including for their use of alcohol or drugs, in the previous year.Note Note Among the 5.3 million Canadians who reported needing some mental health care in 2018, 56.2% (around 3 million people) reported that all of their needs were fully met, that is they received some form of care or help and did not report needing any more. The remaining 2.3 million Canadians (43.8%) felt that their needs were either unmet (some care was needed but none was received), or only partially met (some care was received but was not sufficient). Unmet needs were reported by 1.1 million Canadians, and a similar number (1.2 million) reported partially met needs.
In terms of the type of care needed, the need for medication was the most likely to be met (85.4%). The need for counselling was the most likely to be fully unmet (34.1%; Table 1).
| Type of need | Need status | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unmet | Partially met | Fully met | |
| % | |||
| Any | 21.4 | 22.4 | 56.2 |
| Information about problems, treatments or available services | 20.8 | 8.0 | 71.2 |
| Medication | 9.1 | 5.5 | 85.4 |
| Counselling, therapy or help for problems with personal relationships | 34.1 | 15.9 | 50.0 |
| Other | Note ...: not applicable | 15.0 | 85.0 |
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... not applicable Note: No estimate of unmet ‘other’ care needs can be determined. The category ‘other’ was not included in the question about types of care that were not received, but may have been needed. Source: Canadian Community Health Survey, 2018. |
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Among the 5.3 million Canadians who received or felt they needed some help with their mental health, the number who reported unmet or only partially met needs varied by province, household income, and access to a regular health care provider.
The proportion of residents who reported unmet or only partially met mental health care needs was lower than the national average (43.8%) in:
- New Brunswick (35.9%)
- Quebec (38.9%)
The proportion of residents who reported an unmet or only partially met needs in the past year was higher than the national average in:
- Ontario (46.1%)
- British Columbia (51.1%)
The proportion of residents who reported unmet or partially met mental health care needs in the past 12 months was similar to the national average in all other provinces.
Unmet needs for mental health care also varied by income, as people in households from the lowest income quintileNote were more likely to report unmet or partially met needs (50.5%) compared to Canadians in the highest income quintile (37.8%).
For many Canadians, the first point of contact for medical care is their regular health care provider. In 2018, those without a regular health care providerNote were more likely to report unmet or only partially met needs (60.3%) compared to those who did have one (41.2%).
Perceived barriers to mental health care
The 2.3 million Canadians who reported unmet or partially met mental health care needs were asked to indicate the reasons why they didn’t get the help they needed. Overall the most frequently mentioned barriers were related to personal circumstancesNote (78.2%), such as not knowing where to get help or not being able to afford to pay. Language problems and help not being readily available were cited as a barrier by 19.5% of those with an unmet mental health care need. Almost one-quarter of respondents (22.6%) reported that they preferred to manage the need on their own.Note
Respondents who preferred to manage their needs themselves were asked to elaborate on the reasons why. The most commonly reported reasons were they relied on family and friends (21.6%), they did not feel ready to seek help (16.8%), or they were uncomfortable talking about these problems (17.2%).
Summary
Almost one-in-five (17.8%) Canadians needed mental health care in 2018, and half of them felt that their needs were fully met. Medication needs were the most likely to be fully met, while needs for counselling or therapy were the most likely to be unmet. Residents of Ontario and British Columbia were more likely to report unmet or partially met needs compared to the national rate. When Canadians didn’t get the help they needed, the main reasons reported were because of personal circumstances, such as not knowing where to go or being too busy, or not being able to afford to pay for care.
References
Meadows, G., C. Harvey, E. Fossey, and P. Burgess. 2000. Assessing perceived need for mental health care in a community survey: development of the Perceived Need for Care Questionnaire (PNCQ). Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 35(9), 427-435 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Meadows, G., P. Burgess, I. Bobevski, E. Fossey, C. Harvey, and S.T. Liaw. 2002. Perceived need for mental health care: influences of diagnosis, demography and disability. Psychological medicine, 32(2), 299-309 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Nelson, C. H., and J. Park. 2006. The nature and correlates of unmet health care needs in Ontario, Canada. Social Science & Medicine, 62(9), 2291-2300 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Pearson, C., T. Janz and J. Ali. 2013. Mental and substance use disorders in Canada. Health at a Glance. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-624-X (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Sanmartin, C., C. Houle, S. Tremblay, J-M. Berthelot. 2002. Changes in unmet health care needs. Health Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003-X, Vol. 13, no. 3 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Sareen, J., B.J. Cox, T.O. Afifi, I. Clara, and B.N. Yu. 2005. Perceived need for mental health treatment in a nationally representative Canadian sample. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(10), 643-651 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Sareen, J., M.B. Stein, D.W. Campbell, T. Hassard, and V. Menec. 2005. The relation between perceived need for mental health treatment, DSM diagnosis, and quality of life: A Canadian population-based survey. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(2), 87-94 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Sunderland, A., L.C., Findlay. 2013. Perceived need for mental health care in Canada: Results from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey- Mental Health. Health Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003-X, Vol. 24, no. 9 (accessed September 24th, 2019).
Data
Additional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey are available from table 13-10-0619-01.
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