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Cited by 57Mental Health Treatment and AccessAdolescent and Pediatric HealthcarePsychiatric care and mental health services

Access to mental health and addiction services for youth and their families in Ontario: perspectives of parents, youth, and service providers

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Kourgiantakis, Toula, Markoulakis, Roula, Lee, Eunjung, Hussain, Amina, Lau, Carrie, Ashcroft, Rachelle, Goldstein, Abby L., Kodeeswaran, Sugy +2 more·2023·International Journal of Mental Health Systems
DOI 10.1186/s13033-023-00572-zPMC PMC10011786
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Canadian youth (aged 16-24) have the highest rates of mental health and addiction concerns across all age groups and the most unmet health care needs. There are many structural barriers that contribute to the unmet mental health care needs of youth including lack of available and appropriate services, high costs, long wait times, fragmented and siloed services, lack of smooth transition between child and adult services, stigma, racism, and discrimination, as well as lack of culturally appropriate treatments. Levesque et al. (2013) developed a framework to better understand health care access and this framework conceptualizes accessibility across five dimensions: (1) approachability, (2) availability, (3) affordability, (4) appropriateness, and (5) acceptability. The purpose of this study was to explore access to addiction and mental health services for youth in Ontario, Canada from the perspectives of youth, parents, and service providers. METHODS: This qualitative study was a university-community partnership exploring the experiences of youth with mental health concerns and their families from the perspectives of youth, caregivers, and service providers. We conducted semi-structured interviews and used thematic analysis to analyze data. RESULTS: The study involved 25 participants (n = 11 parents, n = 4 youth, n = 10 service providers). We identified six themes related to structural barriers impacting access to youth mental health and services: (1) "The biggest barrier in accessing mental health support is where to look," (2) "There's always going to be a waitlist," (3) "I have to have money to be healthy," (4) "They weren't really listening to my issues," (5) "Having more of a welcoming and inclusive system," and (6) "Health laws aren't doing what they need to do." CONCLUSION: Our study identified five structural barriers that map onto the Levesque et al. healthcare access conceptual framework and a sixth structural barrier that is not adequately captured by this model which focuses on policies, procedures, and laws. The findings have implications for policies and service provisions, and underline the urgent need for a mental health strategy that will increase access to care, improve mental health in youth, decrease burden on parents, and reduce inequities in mental health policies and services.

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kourgiantakis, T., Markoulakis, R., Lee, E., Hussain, A., Lau, C., Ashcroft, R., Goldstein, A. L., Kodeeswaran, S., Williams, C. C., & Levitt, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Sunnybrook Hospital (CA)
  • Sunnybrook Health Science Centre (CA)
Corresponding author
Kourgiantakis, Toula
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Mental Health Systems
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2023-03-14
Volume
17
Issue
1
Pages
4-4
ISSN
1752-4458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13033-023-00572-z
PMC
PMC10011786
OpenAlex
W4324146047
Cited by
57
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 6
FWCI
16.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Mental Health Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Dean's Network Award, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
Keywords
youth mental health, addiction services, access to mental health care, structural barriers, waiting time, health care affordability, stigma, health policy, parents and caregivers, service providers, Ontario

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