Barriers hamper prevention efforts

November 22, 2021

Beyond underfunding for children’s mental health services, additional barriers impede prevention efforts from reaching all those in need. These include:

  • Lack of individuals in rural communities with experience delivering prevention programs.
  • In Indigenous communities: staff shortages, high staff turnover, and interventions that fail to incorporate Indigenous perspectives and approaches.
  • Prevention services delivered in inconvenient settings or at inconvenient times.
  • Fear of stigmatization.

When children and families do enrol in prevention programs, other barriers can prevent them from fully benefiting. Studies have found that up to 80% of children and families do not complete mental health interventions. This issue is most likely to occur with children from families in low-income neighbourhoods. For more information see Vol. 14, No. 1 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.