Shared Priorities, Data and Reporting: Improving Access to Mental Health, Addictions and Home Care Services

• Main Authors: Kathleen Morris, Brent Diverty, Natalie Damiano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Swansea University 2020-12-01
• Series: International Journal of Population Data Science
• Online Access: https://ijpds.org/article/view/1525

Introduction Around the world, the need for mental health, addictions and home care services is growing. Government commitment and collective efforts to bridge data gaps, develop indicators and publicly report results are key elements in Canada’s efforts to improve access. Objectives and Approach This symposium will demonstrate how a coalition of stakeholders united to use real-world data to measure progress and drive change. Each presentation highlights a different aspect of the project with participant interaction, aiming for the Canadian context to spark knowledge exchange across sectors and countries: • Presentation 1 - Coalitions and consensus (10 min.): processes and engagement for successful collaboration between governments, providers, measurement experts and people with lived experiences to select and develop indicators • Facilitated Q&A (5 min.) • Presentation 2 - Standards and data infrastructure (10 min.): new standards to enhance data comparability and strengthened data infrastructure to support measurement and reporting • Facilitated Q&A (5 min.) • Presentation 3 - Indicator development (10 min.): the indicator development cycle, methodological approaches using linked and partial data, and development strategies for new concepts • Facilitated Q&A (5 min.) • Presentation 4 - Public reporting and policy impact (10 min.): describes how public reporting supports sustained commitments and energizes change using targeted tools and messages • Facilitated Q&A (15 min.) Results Public reporting began in 2019, with 3 new indicators released annually over 4 years. Initial reporting provides a baseline to track improvements, and a starting point for health system planners to learn from peers across Canada. The indicators have been a catalyst to fill important data gaps in emergency and home care services. Conclusion / Implications Through shared priorities, coalitions and linked data, information gaps are being filled to drive advancements in access to mental health and addictions services, and home care. Lessons learned in Canada can be adapted internationally to galvanize needed improvements in these sectors.