Toward an integrated and comprehensive equity framework for mental health policy and programming: Needs assessment report

Profound and unacceptable inequities in access and mental health outcomes persist in Canada. In response, social justice movements have created a range of distinct but complementary frameworks, including sex and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+), health equity, intersectionality, anti-racism, decolonization, and mental health recovery. Yet the sheer number of frameworks has created challenges for implementing policy and programming here at the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and in the mental health, substance use health, and public health sectors more broadly. Toward an Integrated and Comprehensive Equity Framework for Mental Health Policy and Programming: Needs Assessment Report provides guidance on integrating a range of approaches, frameworks, and experiences into a comprehensive equity framework for mental health policy and programming. It was guided by our policy community of practice, an internal forum created to foster policy coherence across the organization.