CCBR engaged with federation members and folks with lived experience in rural and northern communities across Canada to identify gaps in the provision of mental health and substance use health services. The work was guided by a Steering Committee composed of people living and working in rural areas and the north. Findings were intended to support the creation of a rural and remote mental health strategy led by CMHA.

The project explored the following topics:

• Core elements of effective rural and remote mental health care system delivery
• Common challenges and opportunities facing rural and remote mental health care providers.
• System navigation and experiences of people with lived experience of mental illnesses, substance use problems and mental health concerns located in rural and remote areas.
• Challenges for rural and remote mental health service access using an intersectional lens that considers diversity, including gender, sexuality, socioeconomic and racial diversity, as well as an attention to colonialism and the disproportionate health impacts experienced by many Indigenous communities across Canada
• CMHA’s unique value proposition in the delivery of mental health in rural and remote areas.

Methods included a literature review, key informant interviews, and a survey of CMHA Branches, Regions and Divisions across the country, among other research methodologies. CCBR produced a summary report with recommendations, presentation, and some shorter knowledge translation tools to support action on the needs assessment.