Satisfaction With Youth Mental Health Services in Diverse Settings: Results From a Pan-Canadian Initiative
OBJECTIVE: Increasing concern about youth mental health has brought interest in service reform. Given the importance of positive care experiences, the authors aimed to study rates of satisfaction, as well as characteristics associated with satisfaction, in ACCESS Open Minds, a cocreated network of enhanced primary and community youth mental health services across Canada. METHODS: A total of 482 youths receiving services at 10 ACCESS Open Minds sites (urban, rural, and Indigenous) completed the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-4 and responded to additional demographic and service use questions. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of youths were satisfied with their mental health services, substantially higher than the predefined goal of 75%. Youths who preferred virtual services (23%) were less satisfied than those who preferred in-person services. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are comparable with those from similar initiatives, highlighting the value of youth-friendly, holistic primary mental health care. High satisfaction across sociodemographic groups and sites suggests that such services are acceptable in diverse communities.
Authors
- Jai L. Shah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7549-6990)
- Kathleen MacDonald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9782-0368)
- Vickie Plourde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0098-5431)
- Srividya N. Iyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5367-9086)
- Cécile Rousseau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6533-6774)
- Tovah Cowan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0169-6412)
- Shalini Lal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7501-5018)
- Liana Urichuk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1013-5921)
- Rebecca Fuhrer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4504-1637)
- Norma Rabbitskin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7869-3108)
- Isabelle Godin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5121-9991)
- Kevin Friese
- Patricia Boksa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5735-9565)
- Lacey Augustine
- Charles-Albert Morin
- Paula Reaume-Zimmer
- Daphne Hutt-MacLeod
- Ashok Malla
- Helen Vallianatos
- Neil Andersson
- John Bedirian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9428-5749)
- Valérie Noël
- Amal Abdel-Baki
- Mary-Anne Levasseur
- Ridha Joober
Institutions
- University of New Brunswick (CA)
- Alberta Health Services (CA)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Charles River Laboratories (Netherlands) (NL)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Université de Moncton (CA)
- Douglas College (CA)
- Nova Scotia Community College (CA)
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
- Sturgeon Community Hospital (CA)
- Government of New Brunswick (CA)
- Assembly of First Nations (CA)
- The Quebec Population Health Research Network (CA)
- Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec (CA)
- Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CA)
- Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- Université de Montréal (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Psychiatric Services
- Published
- 2026-04-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20250441
- Primary Topic
- Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00