Presented throughout this section are reports that have been prepared on various topics related to mental health. The majority of the reports have been created by the Information Management team (either directly or in collaboration with partners) or by other staff within the Alberta Mental Health Board.
SYSTEM LEVEL PERFORMANCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN ALBERTA 2007/08
December 2008
The “SYSTEM LEVEL PERFORMANCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN ALBERTA” report was initiated by the Alberta Mental Health Board in response to a recommendation in the Provincial Mental Health Plan and is the first attempt to collaboratively and comprehensively measure the effectiveness of Alberta’s mental health system. The spirit of collaboration by provincial and regional contributors was a crucial ingredient in the creation of this product. The content is based on select measures taken from the "Performance Measurement Framework for Alberta’s Mental Health System: 2007.” The framework is consistent with the six dimensions of quality in the Alberta Quality Matrix for Health.
Service providers are using this report to assess their progress, identify areas for improvement and share ideas about what treatments are most effective. The measures cover a broad range of areas including support for primary care physicians, client satisfaction, access to services and clinical outcomes.
The network of individuals who created this report is currently working on a new version for the current fiscal year. The most significant change in process is that stakeholders from Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) are participating in an effort to expand the focus to include a more complete picture of addictions related services.
In addition to providing immediate and short-term information about the mental health system, this report has longer-term value in assessing changes over time by identifying a baseline for future monitoring.
To access the reports, please click on the following links:
System Level Performance Report Executive Summary
System Level Performance Full Report
Mental Health Needs of Albertans: Select Factors and Findings
December 2007
This report provides extensive information on factors related to the mental health needs of Albertans:
- What factors affect the mental health of Albertans?
- How many Albertans receive mental health services?
- What are the most common types of problems?
- Is the rate of treatment increasing?
- What parts of the health care system are being accessed?
- What are some of the regional differences?
The information comes from a variety of sources including national reports, ministries, other jurisdictions and a select literature review. The majority of the analysis work was conducted by accessing various provincial data sets.
The Information Management team welcomes your feedback; you are encouraged to complete the feedback form.
To access the report, please click on the link:
Mental Health Needs of Albertans: Select Factors and Findings
This “Performance Monitoring Framework for Alberta’s Mental Health System (2007)” was created to guide system level performance measurement of Alberta’s mental health system. It was created in response to recommendations in the Provincial Mental Health Plan (2004) and in the Strategic Data Assessment (2005).
This current version has been updated from the 2006 framework based on another round of feedback. Consultation and input from a broad range of regional and provincial stakeholders was considered in the development of this framework. In addition, a review of relevant literature and other jurisdictions was also conducted. Expert opinion from external provinces was also sought to influence the content.
The background document has further details about the intent and scope of the framework.
The framework will be used to guide provincial level evaluation activities as well as information collection processes in Alberta. This document is still considered a work in progress and will undergo revisions and refinements over time. If you have feedback concerning the measures used, please contact us.
To access the framework document, please click on the link:
Performance Monitoring Framework
To access the background document, please click on the link:
Background Document
Utilization of Emergency Rooms in Alberta – 2004/2005
Did you know… that visits to emergency rooms (ERs) by Albertans with mental health concerns have been increasing steadily since 2001/2002?
- 40,155 individuals visited ERs for mental health concerns in 2004/05.
- 63,913 visits to ERs were generated by persons with mental health concerns.
The Information Management team is proud to present the second report on this topic that focuses on the number of individuals who accessed ERs, how long their visits take, and for what purposes they visited ERs. We invite you to follow the link to this report for more information:
ERMarch2007FinalReportv21.pdf
Physicians’ Report
How many people seek mental health services from a physician? Do results differ based on where people live? What are the most common reasons (diagnoses) that people seek mental health services from a physician? These questions and more are addressed in the attached report.
Highlight: On an annual basis, around 16% of the entire province receives at least one mental health service from a physician.
Physicians_ Report.pdf
Children’s’ Wait Times
How long should children in Alberta wait for mental health services?
A provincial group asked this very question and over a period of time, arrived at an ideal for the length of time children should wait for mental health services. These times are not guarantees. Instead, these times represent ideals that the working group felt would be optimal maximum waiting times for children requiring mental health services. These ideals, or standards are being used as a context or goal for regional health care providers to move towards attaining.
Highlight: The ideal wait times are based on three levels of urgency ratings for the mental health problems children present with.
Childrens_Wait_Times.pdf
Childrens Mental Health Brochure_.pdf
Mental Health Service Utilization
Albertans access mental health services at different rates. Where individuals live within the province has an impact on the type of services that are used. The report entitled
Mental Health Services in Alberta: Provincial Summary provides information on utilization of mental health services in Alberta for the 2002/03 fiscal year by residents of Alberta's health regions. In addition to describing how the population uses component of the mental health service continuum, this report contains ratings of “Self perceived mental health” and other select indicators from the Canadian Community Health Survey.
Highlight:
Albertans access all areas of the mental health continuum at different rates.
Provincial_ Summary.pdf