Youth Mental Health Service Contacts in Ontario Pre- and Post- Pandemic

Research has shown an increase in mental health symptoms and mental health service utilization amongst Canadian youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is little research exploring changes in mental health service contacts across sectors (health, education, and community) from before the pandemic to now. The objective of this research is to investigate the demand for youth (aged less than or equal to 17) mental health services prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from three Statistics Canada epidemiological surveys will be used to estimate and compare service contacts for Ontario youth at three time points (2014, 2019, and 2023). These surveys will contain comparable data on mental health service contacts, service types and settings, and mental health symptoms. Pre-pandemic data will be compared to post-pandemic data to assess patterns and changes in 1) the rates of service contacts; 2) the clinical and socio-demographic correlates of service contacts; and 3) the types of services contacted. The hypotheses are that: 1) rates of mental health service contact in youth will peak during the pandemic and experience a slight decrease subsequently; 2) this pattern will be heightened in youth who more frequently experience symptoms of depression and anxiety; and 3) demands across different mental health service sectors will have increased as a result of the pandemic. This research will provide insight into the demand for various youth mental health services, how these services are being accessed, and how these patterns have changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, this knowledge will contribute to the fields of health services research and psychiatric epidemiology.