Assessing the Perception of Family and Caregivers' Experience with Mental Health and Substance Use Services.

Standardized client feedback surveys encourage a culture of continuous quality improvement, allow for comparison of results over time and across similar types of service providers, and encourage use of evidence-based practices. Recognizing the importance of family and other caregivers in supporting people accessing services for mental health and substance use challenges, a standardized perception-of-care tool (the Ontario Perception of Care Tool for Mental Health and Addictions, OPOC-MHA) was adapted to collect feedback specific to the caregiver experience with these services. A collaborative process engaged a broad range of mental health and/or addiction providers, family advisory networks, and family members and caregivers to identify themes, specific items, and implementation approaches.

Housing Instability and Concurrent Substance use and Mental Health Concerns: An Examination of Canadian Youth.

Objective: Though previous research has identified the high burden of mental health and addiction (MHA) concerns among precariously housed youth, earlier studies have not examined differences in MHA concerns among housing insecure Canadian youth across sectors. This study examines this issue using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Short Screener (GAIN-SS) in a cross-sectoral sample of Canadian youth.

Method: A total of 2605 youth ages 12 to 24 seeking services across sectors completed the GAIN-SS and a sociodemographic form.