The project team conducted two series of focus group discussions across Canada. The first round involved six discussions in five communities with seniors and youth in late winter 2005. The objective was to get a preliminary sense of the mental health literacy of Canadian seniors and youth and to see how closely it corresponded with the literature review findings, in preparation for the development of a national survey. The second round of focus group discussions followed the national survey to obtain a deeper understanding of survey results and other pertinent research findings about mental health literacy in Canada. It involved ten discussions in seven cities across the country.
The facilitators engaged participants in discussions about their knowledge and perception of mental illness, perceived causes, stigma and social distance, how language shapes their thinking, how best to promote and protect mental health and the mind/body connection. Facilitators presented some groups with vignettes used in other research to assess recognition and perceived causes of mental illness, social distance and stigma, and attitudes towards interventions and recovery. They also asked participants about their perceptions of mental illness and mental health.
In total, 126 people participated in the discussions including male, female, senior, youth, Francophone, Aboriginal and Multi-cultural participants. The full reports may be found in Appendix B and Appendix E.
Sample sizes for the surveys were not large, the literature reviewed did not include an analysis of research methodologies, and the focus groups may not be representative of the population as a whole, or of the respective constituency groups. However, triangulation of results with similar patterns emerging from the literature review, survey and focus group findings, lends credibility to the project report.
Mental disorders range from mild to severe. They differ from normal human distress because they are characterized by specific symptoms and signs and, without intervention, tend to follow a predictable course. Footnote 1 Mental disorders are influenced by a combination of biological, psychological and social factors, although there is continued debate about the relative weight of these factors and exactly how they interact to lead to the onset of mental illnesses. Footnote 2 It is clear that social determinants of physical health such as poverty, education and social support, also influence mental health. Footnote 3 Approximately one-quarter of all people will be affected by a mental disorder at some time in their lives and the associated global burden is considerable: mental disorders represent four of the ten leading causes of disability worldwide. Footnote 4
Return to note 1 WHO, 2001; WHO, 2004a
Return to note 2 Arben, 1996; Harris, 2001; WHO, 2001
Return to note 3 Stephens, 2001; WHO, 2004b
Return to note 4 WHO, 2001