Research and Evaluation
Every day, we benefit from medical advances that are rooted in decades of rigorous research and evaluation to improve our physical health. Unfortunately, our mental health has not received the same attention.
Until now, Canada has lacked a large-scale, coordinated effort to collect evidence on the effectiveness of treatment approaches to improve mental health and substance use services.
HRI is changing this.
The evaluation of mental health and substance use services is a vital step toward better care. But we can’t improve what we don’t measure. Until we improve how we measure outcomes, we don’t have the evidence we need to understand how to use limited resources to provide as much benefit, for as many people, as possible. We cannot afford to waste scarce resources, particularly when the demand for treatment is so great.
Dr. Jean Costello, Director of Research and Evaluation, leads HRI’s evaluation program and is guiding the growth and expansion of the Progress and Outcomes Monitoring Project. HRI has also engaged Dr. Brian Rush, a leading international expert in evaluation and Scientist Emeritus with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. His expertise has been invaluable to the development of the project.
Learn more about why Canada needs evaluation research and how HRI is helping to improve care:
Featured Projects and Programs of Study:
Examining Integrated Youth Services at Grove Wellington Guelph
HRI has partnered with the Integrated Youth Services Network to evaluate its model of care. It will also assess the model for replicability in other sectors.
Evaluation study at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare commissioned HRI to evaluate the online treatment platform for substance use, Breaking Free Online.
Recovery Journey Project
This longitudinal study measures indicators of recovery from addiction and mental illness over time. It monitors and evaluates treatment quality and effectiveness.
Together, we can improve treatment services for all Canadians.