Data Analytics, Research and Evaluation (DARE)
As a leading, accredited community-based mental health agency, CMHA Toronto supports the community mental health and addictions sector through data analysis, applied research and program evaluation by:
- Advancing understanding of the service needs of persons with lived experience of mental health issues and of effective interventions that address their needs
- Evaluating the accessibility, effectiveness and efficiency of community health programs
- Identifying health inequities within the community mental health and addictions sector as well as promising practices to address these inequities
- Enhancing the capacity of people with lived experience of mental health or addictions issues to evaluate services and conduct research relevant to their lived experiences to inform service and system improvement.
Research and Evaluation Components
Our DARE initiative is comprised of two main components—one focused on quantitative research and the other focused on qualitative research. Our quantitative research often involves analyses of big data collected by community mental health organizations during the provision of care. We leverage these data to better understand service users’ needs and inform decisions about how services can be tailored to address these needs. Our qualitative research is led by our Peer Program Evaluation Project (PPEP), which trains people with lived experience of mental health and addictions issues to evaluate mental health services in partnerships with service providers. Click here to learn more about PEPP.
Research and Evaluation Projects and Collaborations
CMHA Toronto is leading research and evaluation projects that inform service and system improvements in the community mental health and addictions sector to better deliver care to those with mental health issues. Our research and evaluation projects developed in partnership with community mental health and addictions organizations, academic and research centres and think tanks have focused on the following six areas:
- Community Treatment Orders and Leveraged Treatment
- Evaluations of Community Mental Health Services
- Mental Health and Justice
- Ontario Common Assessment of Need
- Performance Measurement
- Supportive Housing