Mental Health Visits
Unmet Mental Health Needs
Mental Health Visit
According to the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), 28% (23.7%, 32.0%) of Simcoe Muskoka students (Grades 7-12) reported seeing a health professional in the past year about their mental or emotional health, which was similar to the provincial average of 27% (24.9%, 28.2%). Past year mental health visits were significantly higher in 2019 when compared with 2015 both among Simcoe Muskoka students and across the province overall.
In 2019, Simcoe Muskoka female students (34% (28.7%, 39.8%)) reported seeing a health professional about their mental or emotional health significantly more than did male students (21% (16.1%, 27.9%)). However, the percentage of male students that reported a mental health visit in the past year doubled in 2019 when compared with 2015, while the increase among females was smaller and not statistically significant.
Unmet Mental Health Needs
Also from the 2019 OSDUHS, about one-in-three Simcoe Muskoka students (32% (27.7%, 37.4%)) reported wanting to talk to someone about a mental health or emotional problem they had, but did not know where to turn in the past year. About twice as many female students (44% (37.5%, 51.1%)) reported unmet mental health service needs when compared with male students (21% (15.4%, 27.8%)). Those with lower perceived socioeconomic status (SES) also reported significantly higher unmet mental health service needs when compared with students with higher perceived SES.
Page last updated June 17, 2022