I. COUNTRY:
Canada
II. TOTAL POPULATION:
35,344,962 ("Home page — Statistics
Canada")
III. POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS: (men, women, kids,
ethnicities):
(http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo10a-eng.htm)
IV. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS:
One
in five adult Canadians (21.3 percent) will suffer a mental disorder in their
lives. This figure translates into between 4.5-6 million people.
("Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health / Mental Illness
Awareness Week | Quick Facts")
In
2012, approximately 2.8 million people, or 10.1% of Canadians aged 15 and
older, reported symptoms consistent with at least one of six mental or
substance use disorders in the past 12 months. ("Canadian Community Health
Survey: Mental Health, 2012")
V. RELIGION / CULTURAL BELIEFS / SOCIAL CONTEXT:
IMPACT OF BELIEFS / SOCIAL CONTEXT ON PERCEPTION OF
MENTAL ILLNESS AND PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS:
It seems as though
there is a sort of social stigma behind mental illness in Canada. People with
mental illnesses are more often than not stereotyped. Some of the stereotypes
include the mentally ill being violent, though they are much more likely to be
victims of violence. There is also the idea that those who claim to have mental
illness are just lazy or have lack of willpower. A lot of the stigma shows
itself in the workplace where people with mental illness can lose jobs or
credibility if they admit to having the illness. It becomes worse if they have
been hospitalized. Apparently there’s also a bit of stigma in the Canadian
medical community when it comes to mental illness. People with mental illnesses
who go to the emergency room for help with suicidal thoughts have been made to
wait as others were helped before them. (Whalen) It may be because of the
stigmas that only one in three Canadians report that they have sought help and
treatment for mental health problems. (“The Facts”).
The Aboriginal people
of Canada also face a higher percentage of mental illness than the rest of the
Canadian population. However, Aboriginal peoples are actually more likely to
report their mental illness and seek help and treatment for them. 17% of
Aboriginal people seek treatment, compared to the Canadian average of 8%.
(Kahn, 2008). The Aboriginal traditional views of well being didn’t separate
mental illness from other aspects of health. Their ideas of health, mental
illness included, did not focus on the individual as much as it did connections
with others and nature. (“Institutional Links”).
VI. METHODS
OF SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS:
As
it is a country that employs a universal health care system, mental health care
in Canada can be treated through the government. However, the amount of
treatment they can get through the government varies throughout the Canadian
provinces. All Canadian citizens have access to physician and hospital
services, but it’s up to each province to decide if it wants to cover
supplementary care (ie. dental, prescriptions, vision, etc). (Kliff, 2012). The
problem with this however, is that the mental health services that are part of
Canadian health care are often overlooked or underfunded. As many as a third of
the Canadians who look for mental health services through the Canadian health
care system find that their needs are only partially met, and this number is
even higher with children and young adults. ("For Reporters"). Many
Canadians find themselves paying for things like psychiatric care and drugs out
of pocket.
However
there are several programs that are working to bring the necessity of adding
the the budget and availability of mental health care to light. The Mental
Health Commission of Canada supports and works to increase collaboration
between all sectors of Canadian health care, whether they be physical or
mental. One of the ways the MHCC is doing this is by providing training to primary
care doctors that increases their capacity to recognize and deal with mental
health issues. (“Issue: Primary Care”). The Canadian Mental Health Association
recognizes the importance of community care as well as formal treatment and
works towards improving the universal access, terms and conditions, and public
administration of mental health care available to the Canadian people. The CMAA
also promotes insurance, both governmental and supplemental, to include
prevention activities, supportive living and housing arrangements, and access
to prescription drugs. (“Mental Health Services”).
There
are also multiple programs and websites, the MHCC and CMAA included, that are
strongly fighting to minimize the stigma that surrounds mental illness. Almost
every search that includes the phrases “mental health” or “mental illness” and “Canada”
will have a link that leads to lists of facts about mental illness, what it is
or how many Canadians have mental illness or the ways mental illness affects
peoples lives. The sites more often than not mention common misconceptions
about mental illnesses and people with mental illnesses and give examples of,
or ways that, the stigmas surrounding mental health can be overcome.
VII. PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
I find that it can be
difficult to judge what other societies think about pretty much any topic,
including mental illness, when one has not grown up in that society or even
been immersed in the society for an extended period of time. That’s why I think
I struggled a little with the section of this assignment that asked about how
society and cultural beliefs affected views on mental illness. I found myself
having to piece together what the overall Canadian beliefs on mental illness might
be based on websites and articles that were set up mainly to fight stigmas.
They seemed to fill in plenty of blanks, but I still feel like there are grey
areas about how Canadian’s view mental health that I would only be able to fill
in by visiting the country myself.
Also, I was rather
surprised to find that Canadian health care system, which I had previously
heard only positive reviews about, had so many problems supporting Canadian
citizens with mental illnesses. I was shocked to find that Canadians with
mental health problems can really only find support if they’re hospitalized. I
always figured the Canadian health care system would obviously encourage
community care and out patients. Though, even with these problems, it still
seems to me that the Canadian health care system still does better helping
citizens with mental health and making living mental health more affordable
than the American system does.
VIII. REFERENCES: (APA FORMAT)
Facts. (n.d.). Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health Mental Illness Awareness Week RSS2. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from
Canadian
Community Health Survey: Mental Health, 2012. (n.d.). Government of Canada,
Statistics Canada.Retrieved June 3,
2014, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130918/dq130918a-eng.htm
For Reporters. (n.d.). CAMH: Statistics on Mental
Illness and Addictions. Retrieved June 5, 2014,
from http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/about_camh/newsroom/for_reporters/pages/addictionmentalhealthstatistics.aspx
Institutional links. (n.d.). The Human Face of
Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada 2006.
Retrieved June 6, 2014,
from
Issue:Primary Care. (n.d.). Issue: Primary Care.
Retrieved June 7, 2014, from
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/issues/primary-care?routetoken=88a92e35dda591ab299fdd992d9f69c3&terminitial=26
Kahn, S. (2008). Aboriginal Mental Health: The
statistical reality. Visions Journal, 5(1),
6-7.
Kliff, S. (2012, July 1). Everything you ever wanted
to know about Canadian health care in one
post.Washington Post.
Retrieved June 7, 2014, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/01/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-canadian-health-care-in-one-post/
Mental Health Services. (n.d.). Canadian Mental
Health Association. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from
The Facts. (n.d.). Mental Health Strategy.
Retrieved June 5, 2014, from
Whalen, David. B.A. “The Stigma Associated with
Mental Illness.” Canadian Mental Health
