Vol. 4 No. 1 (1998)
Research Article

Public Attitudes Regarding the Community Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Stabilization Unit in Swan River, Manitoba

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  • Ivan L. Rapchuk, B.Sc.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26443/mjm.v4i1.675

Published 2020-12-01

Keywords

  • deinstitutionalization,
  • acceptance,
  • mental health

How to Cite

1.
Rapchuk I. Public Attitudes Regarding the Community Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Stabilization Unit in Swan River, Manitoba. McGill J Med [Internet]. 2020 Dec. 1 [cited 2025 Oct. 7];4(1). Available from: https://mjm.mcgill.ca/article/view/675
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Abstract

A door-to-door survey was conducted on households within a one square block of a Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Stabilization Unit (Swan River, Manitoba, Canada). This was undertaken to examine the opinions and attitudes of the members of the surveyed households regarding the neighboring community mental health residence, as well as their general attitudes toward mentally ill individuals. The survey utilized preliminary questions to obtain personal characteristics of the respondents, which were followed by 11 short questions regarding attitudes towards mental illness and the neighborhood facility. The findings of this study agree with previous research suggesting a general receptiveness on the part of community residents to deinstitutionalization and to having community mental health residents as neighbors. The personal characteristic with the greatest positive influence on attitudes was previous personal contact with mentally ill individuals. However, it was found that a segment of the population holds negative attitudes towards the CSU. The author suggests that education of the community regarding the mental health facility and mentally ill persons may improve acceptance to a greater extent.

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