MDSC is an active national participant in creating and disseminating new knowledge about mood disorders, other mental illnesses and mental health. It competes for and receives numerous grants that support the development of research and discussion papers, and it has hosted national workshops. The following reports are intended for broad audiences. They represent the Society’s commitment to influencing research agendas, government policy and decision-making through presenting the thoughtful and credible results of consumer and family led projects.

Health care transformation: Change that Works. Care that Lasts. Sept 2010. MDSC supports the Canadian Medical Association's call for each province and territory to implement a Patient Charter, within a national framework, to provide accountability to patients. MDSC was involved in stakeholder meetings assisting the CMA develop a Charter for Patient-Centred Care. MDSC supports using this Charter to as a model for enhanced efforts to make the system more accountable to those who matter most: patients.Factsheet (PDF)

Building Bridges (Phase 2) - A Pathway to Cultural Safety, MDSC & NMHAC. November 2010.
Building Bridges is a joint project of Mood Disorders Society of Canada and the Native Mental Health Association of Canada, which received funding support from the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada. Launched May 2009, Phase 2 builds on the work of  the Phase 1 Symposium  held November 2007 (see Phase 1 posting below). The aim of Phase 2 was to develop: 1) a national agenda for research on cultural safety and cultural competence, and 2) a national strategic framework for improving culturally and linguistically competent and safe services in mental health care for mental health consumers and Aboriginal peoples. Phase 2 also focused on investigating and determining which cultural and social institutions need to be restored or re-built in order to accommodate cultural safety. Read more about the project and the results of the forums conducted in communities across Canada.  Final Report (English PDF);  Schedules A - E (English PDF).

Brief to the Canadian Agency for Drug and Technologies in Health (CADTH), January 2010
Ensuring Meaningful Patient Input - Response to request for stakeholder feedback on Patient Group Input guidelines and template from the Canadian Agency for Drug and Technologies in Health (CADTH).  Read more...(PDF English)

Stigma research and anti-stigma programs:  From the point of view of people who live with stigma and discrimination everyday, March 2009
This paper examines the contributions and limits of stigma research. It reviews and comments on the findings from the Mood Disorders Society of Canada’s Stigma Research Workshop in October 2006 and presents further MDSC thoughts and activities.  It then documents national and international anti-stigma activities since that time and offers a series of recommendations for forward movement.  It asks the question:  What progress have we made?  Read more… (PDF English)

Frequency and Correlates of Gambling Problems in Depressed and Bipolar Outpatients, MDSC, March 2008
Problem and pathological gambling are becoming a major public health issue in Canada. Higher rates of psychiatric co morbidities, most notably bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder have been reported in populations of problem and pathological gamblers. While it has also been shown that gamblers tend to exhibit negative mood symptoms, the temporal relationship between the two has not been clearly delineated.  Read more…  (PDF English) 

Building Bridges (Phase 1) Symposium Report, MDSC & NMHAC, November 2007
Over the past several years, leaders from the Native Mental Health Association of Canada and the Mood Disorders Society of Canada identified many similarities between the history and experiences of mental health consumers and Aboriginal people. These included social marginalization, stigma and discrimination, and a higher prevalence of traumatic experiences. It was recognized that these issues were related in turn to higher rates of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, over-representation in the criminal justice system, suicide and poor health outcomes. As a result there were a number of common themes which emerged including racism in all its forms, social exclusion along with historic geographic and financial barriers to accessing services. Read more…  (PDF English)

Stigma and discrimination – as expressed by mental health professionals, MDSC, November 2007
Anecdotal reports of consumer and family experiences of stigma and discrimination are numerous. At the Mood Disorders Society of Canada’s (MDSC) October, 2006 Stigma Research Workshop (supported by the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Health Canada) the focus was on identifying top research priorities. Read more…  (PDF English)

Invitational Exploratory Roundtable Patient Waits in Emergency Departments: Mental Health, MDSC, October 2007
Overcrowding in Canadian Emergency Departments (EDs) is of general and widespread concern. Psychiatric emergencies are a contributing factor. It has been established that EDs are experiencing more and more complex psychiatric emergencies. This form of emergency arises out of a complex set of circumstances that begin and end far from the ED door. This paper provides a discussion of wait times for psychiatric clients in EDs within the context of the whole public health care system.  Read more…  (PDF English)

Proceedings report: Invitational Exploratory Roundtable Psychiatric Patient Waits in Emergency Departments, January 2008
The Mood Disorders Society of Canada was asked to convene a group of respected experts in the provision of emergency services – and interested others - to participate in an Exploratory Roundtable on Psychiatric Patient Waits in Emergency Departments. The full-day discussion was positive and constructive, with delegates sharing their perspectives and experiences in an effort to help increase the level of awareness and understanding among the assembled group, and ultimately drive to consensus on a series of priority recommendations for areas of improvement. According to delegates, the Roundtable constituted the first time a national panel of experts had gathered together to address this important issue. Read more… (PDF English)

Patient Wait Time Guarantees Mental Health, MDSC, April 2007 
In March, 2007, the Mood Disorders Society of Canada was commissioned by Health Canada to provide impartial expert advice on the key issues and challenges in accessing timely care for patients with mental illness in Canada. The work is in support of Health Canada’s role in facilitating wait times reduction. Read more…  (PDF English)

Stigma and Discrimination Research Workshop Proceedings Report, MDSC, October 2006
As part of the mandate to support those with mental illness and offer leadership in strategies to address mental illness, the Mood Disorders Society of Canada convened a national workshop to explore the issues around stigma and discrimination.  Read more…  (PDF English)  

Stigma – The Hidden Killer, MDSC, May 2006
People who live with mental illness and their families often state that the stigma associated with their diagnosis was more difficult to bear than the actual illness. Stigma is all encompassing. It affects the ability to find housing and employment, enter higher education, obtain insurance, and get fair treatment in the criminal justice or child welfare systems. Stigma is not limited to the attitudes and actions of others. Self-stigma relates to internalized negative stereotypes that lead people with mental illness and their families to adopt attitudes of self-loathing and self-blame leading the a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. Read more…  (PDF English)

Mood Disorders and Problem Gambling Cause, Effect, or Cause for Concern: A Review of the Literature, MDSC, January 2004
By undertaking a critical review of the literature, we also hope to stimulate interest in further research by mood disorders and problem gambling specialists to better understand whether people with a mood disorder are at higher risk for gambling problems. If through targeted research it is discovered that they are at greater risk or suffer consequences that are more severe, then people with mood disorders represent a uniquely vulnerable 'at-risk' population requiring greater attention to prevent, assess, and treat for gambling problems.  Read more…  (PDF English)

Read Dec 2012 E-News