The Quality Mental Health Care Framework builds on the Health Standards Organization/Canadian Patient Safety Institute Canadian Quality and Patient Safety Framework for Health and Social Services and includes the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Framework for Safe, Reliable, and Effective Care and Quadruple Aim approaches to the inclusion of providers in quality care.
The Framework identifies 10 critical dimensions that define the quality of mental health care for patients and providers alike.
Accessible
- Having timely and equitable care across the continuum.
- Promotes prevention and early intervention.
- Community-based interventions are available.
Appropriate
- Care is evidence-informed and culturally competent.
Continuous Learning and Improvement
- Knowledge sharing and capacity building among members of the healthcare workforce.
- Innovative care is encouraged and supported.
Integrated
- Care is continuous across the continuum.
- Transition into community settings is smooth.
- Family and/or patient’s support system is involved.
- Integration with services that address social determinants of health.
People-Centred
- Care that is focused and organized around the health needs and expectations of people and communities rather than on disease.
Recovery-Oriented
- Living a satisfying, hopeful, and meaningful life, even when there may be ongoing limitations related to mental health problems and illnesses.
Safe
- Keeping people and providers safe from preventable harm. Care is culturally safe across the continuum for individuals and community.
Stigma-free and inclusive
- Care addresses drivers of mental health stigma and prevents stigma practices in mental health care.
- Health providers are comfortable in coming forward with their mental health problems and illnesses at work.
- Addresses multiple layers of stigma (individual, interpersonal, intersectoral, and structural). A need to better support individuals who have experienced stigma and discrimination.
- Individuals feel respected and valued.
Trauma-informed
- Recognizes the impacts of trauma and violence on individuals receiving mental health care services.
Work Life Environment
- A healthy workplace environment supports provider wellness and promotes psychological safety.
