New report finds one in five Manitobans aged 15+ seek care for anxiety, one in six for depression

A new report by University of Manitoba researchers examines the prevalence of mental health in the province, how often Manitobans use health-care services for mental health and substance use, and where they access those services to inform planning and delivery of care.

Researchers at UM’s Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP), led by epidemiologist Lindsey Dahl, partnered with the provincial government’s Department of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness to produce the report. Using administrative (anonymous) health data from the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository, the researchers:

• Examined prevalence measures of common mental health and substance use disorders based on physician visits, hospitalizations and drug dispensations.
• Measured the frequency of visits to primary care providers, psychiatrists, emergency departments, urgent care centres and hospitals.
• Analyzed where people accessed care in relation to their home region, identifying travel patterns and the geographic regions served by providers.

Common disorders among Manitobans:

• Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health disorders affecting Manitobans in all regional health authorities.
• Around 20 per cent of Manitobans aged 15 and older seek health-care services for anxiety symptoms, while approximately 16 per cent do so for depression.
• Alcohol and prescription opioid use disorders are the most common substance use disorders among Manitobans in this age group identified in the administrative data.
• Alcohol use disorder affects 1.8 per cent of the population, while prescription opioid use disorder affects 0.7 per cent of the population.
• Rates of mental health and substance use disorders are highest in the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Prairie Mountain Health, home to the province’s two largest cities, Winnipeg and Brandon.

“This report will help inform decision-makers as they develop and improve health services, so Manitobans receive the right types of care in the appropriate settings,” says Dahl. “It provides a snapshot of mental health and substance use disorders in the province, which can help to better understand the burden on the health-care system.”

The data are based on 1,169,605 Manitobans aged 15 and older as of December 31, 2022, and the study identifies those who have sought or are actively seeking treatment.

“Showing where demand is highest will help decision-makers assess whether appropriate levels of care are accessible,” Dahl says. “In some cases, strengthened community supports could reduce the need for higher-intensity care, such as emergency departments.”

Nathan Nickel, MCHP Director and Professor in UM’s College of Community and Global Health, says services must be planned and delivered with a focus on cultural safety. 

“MCHP researchers work to make Manitoba’s health system inclusive, respectful and safe,” he says. “When inequities are considered in health-system planning, Manitobans are better positioned to access quality care.”

View the summary with infographic
Access the full report

About the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy
The Manitoba Centre for Health Policy’s (MCHP), located within the University of Manitoba’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, conducts world-class population-based research on health and the social determinants of health. Its mission is to conduct collaborative research and analytics which inform solutions to support a thriving society. MCHP researchers use and manage the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository to examine patterns in population-based health and wellbeing and explore relationships with factors such as income, education, employment, and social status. The repository is unique for its comprehensiveness, level of integration and use of an anonymized population registry. Strict policies and procedures are followed to protect the privacy and security of the data used from the repository.
 

Media Contact:
Danica Hidalgo-Cherewyk, Senior Communications Officer
Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
Danica.HidalgoCherewyk@umanitoba.ca
204 -789-3222