Canadian Postsecondary Student Perspectives on Mental Health: Surveying Treatment, Education, and Access

Background: Students entering post-secondary education face numerous life changes and challenges that increase their vulnerability to negative mental health outcomes. As such, we aimed to determine, from students’ perspectives, the greatest barriers they faced in accessing mental healthcare in Canada, particularly in relation to the Canadian healthcare system. Methods: We performed a survey of open- and closed-ended questions querying 58 students at a large post-secondary institution in Western Canada on their mental health knowledge and perspectives of their own mental healthcare and barriers to accessing mental health resources. Results: Findings demonstrated that stigma, a lack of mental health knowledge, cost, and social factors acted as barriers to help-seeking in post-secondary students. Older participants also demonstrated more confidence in mental health resources and their own mental health strategies, higher rates of positivity towards mental healthcare in the people close to them, and less concern in being stigmatized for mental healthcare use than younger participants. Conclusions: Improving mental health education early in life shows promise at reducing many of the barriers students face in accessing mental healthcare.