Our expertise
Population Health And Community Transformation (PHACT)
Population Health and Community Transformation (PHACT) provides health indicators and evidence to monitor substance use and mental health at the population level, generating and analyzing surveys and other data to inform policy and community transformation. PHACT uses experimentation and modern research technology such as a driving simulator to advance health-related knowledge. Current projects:
- The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS)
- The CAMH Monitor adult substance use and mental health survey
- assessing the effects of substance use (such as cannabis) on driving
Community, Addiction and Mental Health Research and Evaluation (CARE)
Community, Addiction and Mental Health Research and Evaluation (CARE) provides the evidence base for community-based interventions, including prevention and treatment, using many approaches—from participatory action research to randomized community trials. Our researchers use and advance technology, such as mobile laboratories and e-health interventions, in research, prevention and treatment delivery. We also conduct state-of-the art evaluations of community-based interventions. Current projects:
- evaluating online interventions for co-occurring depression and unhealthy alcohol use
- evaluating Canada’s first LGBTQ transitional housing program
- studying the impact of the legalization of online gambling in Ontario
- creating an online intervention to reduce problem gambling
- developing a First Nations men’s mental health program using participatory action research
- understanding and addressing male alcohol-related sexual violence
- evaluating evidence-based behavioural interventions targeted for people living with HIV/AIDS
Health Outcomes and Performance Evaluation (HOPE)
Health Outcomes and Performance Evaluation (HOPE) analyses Ontario health system performance with respect to care for mental illness, including addiction. In close collaboration with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), individualized patient-based health records are analyzed to measure quality of healthcare performance and associated costs, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of health-care interventions, informing health system improvements. While having provincial scope, HOPE also provides crucial quality of care data to improve care at CAMH. Current projects:
- identifying barriers and access points to mental health care
- analyzing health care use and outcomes in co-occurring physical and mental illness (e.g. diabetes and schizophrenia)
- health care patterns and demographics of high cost/heavy users of mental health services
- economic evaluations of mental health interventions
- measuring mental health system performance in five provinces
Ontario Lab: “O-LAB”
The O-Lab models the effects of preventive and care interventions for the entire population of Ontario and beyond through the integration and synthesis of multiple sources of data. The O-Lab embraces the tradition of the “experimenting society,” where changes that are initiated are rigorously evaluated, and long-term effects are evaluated and predicted to optimize the quality and effectiveness of interventions.
World Health Organization/Pan-American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) Collaborating Centre in Addiction and Mental Health
The WHO Centre monitors alcohol trends, a pillar of global estimates of alcohol-attributable disease burden.
Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU)
OTRU is an Ontario-based research network focused on tobacco control research, monitoring and evaluation, teaching and training.
