A new survey launched by a wellness team at Nova Scotia Health aims to get to the bottom of what Nova Scotians need to stay mentally healthy.
Jenna McQueen, with Nova Scotia Health and research manager for WellNS, tells us they hope the survey will help improve the data they have to inform programs and services.
“I think it’s no surprise to anyone that mental health, substance use, and gambling are all significant issues that impact a lot of Nova Scotians,” says McQueen. “But unfortunately, there’s kind of limited data on both sort of those challenges that people face, but also those factors that support their wellbeing.”
She says, one in five Canadians experience mental health challenges.
They have some idea of what the issues are in Nova Scotia, McQueen says, but that information is coming from national data and not our own backyard.
“So, what we’re trying to do is really find out what the true prevalence is here by looking a little deeper in it and hearing it directly from Nova Scotians,” says McQueen.
She adds, they would also like to get a better understanding of how well support services are used, considering the demand is bigger than ever.
“What do people need in terms of service? What are people looking for and what are the barriers they may have experienced either systemically or personally, in getting to those services,” says McQueen.
Thousands of responses
So far, about 10,000 Nova Scotians have responded to the survey.
McQueen says that number is not surprising because many are eager to contribute when it comes to improving mental health for all Nova Scotians.
“If you have family and friends, you don’t need to have experiences with mental illness, but we still want to hear from you because we also want to know what keeps people well,” says McQueen.
Next steps
Once the survey closes, McQueen says, then they will make the findings available and shared with policy makers, planners and service providers.
“We don’t want to have sort of another report on a shelf. We want our findings to be available to the public so communities can access them,” adds McQueen.
The hope is to have better quality data on mental health with a focus on keeping people well.
The survey is anonymous and is open until August.
