An article published in yesterday's edition of The Ottawa Citizen:
Stigma is diverting money for research, doctors say
By Tony Spears
The stigma of mental illness is diverting research money from a multibillion-dollar economic problem, Ottawa’s leading mental health experts say.
Mental illness affects one in five Canadians and is the leading cause of workplace disability. According to a Senate report, the Canadian economy takes an $8.1-billion hit from productivity lost to mental illness, and the cost balloons to $33 billion if substance abuse is included.
The World Health Organization did an assessment showing the global burden of mental illness was second only cardiovascular illnesses, said Dr. Zul Merali, head of the Institute of Mental Health Research at the University of Ottawa. Mental illness is the No. 1 reason for workplace disability.
Lacking the “sex appeal” of heart-disease and cancer, mental illness research funding is languishing and accounts for less than five per cent of health research in Canada, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre data show.
To read the entire article, please click here.
