The Mental Health Literacy project involved four phases of investigation:
A review of the research literature pertaining to mental health literacy was conducted in November 2004, and the review was updated in May 2007 with recent research findings. Multiple databases were searched for the following terms and combinations of terms: health literacy, mental health literacy, promotion and evaluation, mental illness, depression and stigma, prevention, treatment, public education and campaigns, perceptions, attitudes and attitude change and the media. Databases included Medline and Cinahl (Medicine), Social Sciences Abstracts, PsychoInfo, Sociological Abstracts and Social Services Abstracts (Social Work). Other relevant journal articles in the reference list are cited references in the journal articles obtained through database searches, or obtained through web searches.
The literature relating directly to mental health literacy mostly emanates from Australia and Europe, where researchers have studied public knowledge and beliefs about mental illness and mental health. Most of the other literature reviewed related to stigma, public attitudes and perceptions, and public education about mental illness and mental health. Most of the research was focused on depression and schizophrenia, with a smaller number of research articles relating to other mental disorders such as substance abuse or anxiety disorders. The complete literature review may be found in Appendix A
CAMIMH solicited bids from three qualified firms for the national MHL survey of Canadians and selected COMPAS Research Inc. to conduct the survey. COMPAS designed the survey questionnaire with input from the CAMIMH Steering Committee and Project Team. The national survey was conducted in March 2006 with 1000 Canadians. The Aboriginal survey was conducted following the national survey and involved 355 First Nations/Métis/Inuit (FNMI) respondents. Due to cost constraints, the FNMI survey had fewer questions than the national survey. The sample sizes were relatively small. However, the results of the national survey may be considered accurate to within approximately three percentage points 19 times out of 20, and the results of the Aboriginal survey to within approximately five percentage points 19 times out of 20. The results of the Canadian survey are located in Appendix C and the Aboriginal survey findings in Appendix D.