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Mental health and substance use

Mental health and substance use jtseng_master

Mental illness and substance use affect many Canadians at some point in their lifetime. In recognition of their impact on individuals, families, communities and care systems, we provide data and information to guide decisions on clinical care, system management and policy related to mental health and substance use.

Featured material

Measuring access to priority health services

  • Release summary
  • November 30, 2023
Explore the latest products related to new pan-Canadian indicators about access to home and community care and to mental health and substance use services.

Indicators

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Releases and results

See all reports and releases

Mental health and substance use: Overview

Mental health and substance use: Overview jtseng_master

CIHI collaborates with federal, provincial/territorial (FPT), regional and other stakeholders to identify and address mental health and substance use information needs and priorities. We support the development, reporting and use of timely and comparable data related to this topic.

Making a difference in the mental health and substance use sector

To address the growing need for timely access to mental health and substance use services, we are working to develop and report on a set of pan-Canadian indicators that focus on measuring access to mental health and substance use services and to home and community care.

We also support the implementation and use of comprehensive and standardized clinical assessments in mental health and substance use care. The assessments are part of a suite of interRAI tools, including the Resident Assessment Instrument–Mental Health (RAI-MH) for inpatient mental health care and the interRAI Community Mental Health (interRAI CMH) for community-based care. Information that is captured during the assessment process contributes to clinical care planning and system-level decision-making.
 

Databases and data sources

CIHI manages 2 databases that are dedicated to inpatient mental health and substance use services: the Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset and the Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS).

The HMHSU includes pan-Canadian demographic, administrative and diagnosis information. It integrates information from multiple CIHI data sources to focus on hospitalizations with a main diagnosis of mental illness or substance use.

OMHRS contains comprehensive information on individuals who receive inpatient mental health services in selected provinces. OMHRS data is derived from clinical assessments based on the RAI-MH.

Many of CIHI’s other data holdings contain data relevant to mental health and substance use, such as information about the health workforce, pharmaceuticals and spending.

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Mental health and substance use: Reports and releases

Mental health and substance use: Reports and releases jtseng_master

This page lists mental health and substance use reports, stories, infographics and release summaries.

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Cannabis use in Canada — infographic

  • Infographic
  • Published
This infographic looks at Canadians who reported use of cannabis in the 2020 Commonwealth Fund survey of the general population age 18 and older.

Commonwealth Fund survey, 2020

  • Release summary
  • Published
The 2020 Commonwealth Fund survey results focus on the views and experiences of the general population age 18 and older in 11 countries, including Canada.

Heavy drinking in Canada — infographic

  • Infographic
  • Published
This infographic looks at Canadians who reported heavy drinking in the 2020 Commonwealth Fund survey of the general population age 18 and older.

Vaping in Canada — infographic

  • Infographic
  • Published
This infographic looks at Canadians who reported regularly using e-cigarettes in the 2020 Commonwealth Fund survey of the general population age 18 and older.

Mental health and substance use: Data tables

Mental health and substance use: Data tables jtseng_master

This page contains a list of data tables that provide data and information about mental health and substance use.

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Mental health and substance use: Indicators

Mental health and substance use: Indicators jtseng_master

This page contains a list of CIHI’s mental health and substance use indicators.

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Mental health and substance use: Tools

Mental health and substance use: Tools jtseng_master

This page lists CIHI’s performance reporting tools that contain mental health and substance use data.

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Mental health and substance use: Data holdings

Mental health and substance use: Data holdings jtseng_master

CIHI manages 2 databases that are dedicated to inpatient mental health and substance use services: the Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset and the Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS). This page lists other data holdings that contain data relevant to mental health and substance use, such as information about the health workforce, pharmaceuticals and spending.

Hospital mental health data update: Transitioning from HMHDB to HMHSU Data Asset

As part of CIHI’s data modernization strategy, we are transitioning to the newly developed Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset. CIHI’s hospital mental health data that was previously available through the Hospital Mental Health Database (HMHDB) is now available through the HMHSU Data Asset.

Please email specializedcare@cihi.ca with any questions about these changes.

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Mental health and substance use: News and podcasts

Mental health and substance use: News and podcasts jtseng_master

Understand the key messages in CIHI’s recently published data releases by exploring our media releases, bulletins and podcast episodes featuring updates about mental health and substance use.

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Mental health and substance use: Education resources

Mental health and substance use: Education resources jtseng_master

Through our Learning Centre, CIHI provides opportunities for health professionals to understand our evolving reporting systems and the application of our standards, data and analytics. We offer many courses and resources for a variety of audiences, including clinicians, assessors, data submitters and analysts, decision-makers, policy planners and researchers.

Courses and resources are available in a variety of formats, including eLearning modules, PDF and page-based documents, live and recorded web conferences, and videos.

On this page:

 

Learning opportunities

Resources offered through the Learning Centre include the following: 

 

Access CIHI’s Learning Centre

Discover whether you can learn for free!

Simply log in with your CIHI profile and prices will adjust to reflect your entitlements.

Log in 

New user?

Create a CIHI profile so our system can recognize your organization’s entitlements. By doing so, you will get a Learning Centre account — no extra steps needed!

Create a profile 

Browse our catalogues

With 300 learning products in a variety of areas, we’re sure to have something that meets your needs — and our online courses will always fit your schedule.

Visit the Education page 

Other education resources

Resources offered through CIHI include the following:

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