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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Major depression, along with suicide, tops the list of health problems affecting the well-being of
the Inuit. Improvement in their mental wellness would imply primarily the reduction of gaps in the continuum of
services, treatment and support offered.
This thesis focuses on the quality of care offered to those individuals in Nunavik who present with a common
mental disorder. Three objectives are pursued to verify whether these health care have the potential to provide
support to these individuals in their recovery process: 1) assess the quality of clinical processes, using
indicators that are both valid and adapted to the context of Nunavik, 2) identify the delays and disruptions in
the continuums of care, and 3) identify individual and organizational factors liable to influence the quality of
care.
Method: This research adopts a descriptive correlational design based on quantitative methods of data
collection and analysis. The study population comprises users of primary health services aged 14 years and
over, who present with an anxiety disorder or depression. Using clinical records, information on the care
offered was colligated for a two-year observation period. Ninety-three individuals from 10 communities in
Nunavik made up the sample.
Results: A total of 18 clinical process indicators were deemed relevant, measurable and valid indicators to
demonstrate the strengths and gaps in the clinical processes. Study of the continuums of care subsequently
located the majority of discontinuations around the first follow-up visit (planning and implementation), which
indicates that treatment of common mental disorders in Nunavik is built on an acute disease management
model. Finally, the principal factors influencing the quality of care were associated with individual clinical
factors (type of disorder) and socio-demographic factors (age).
Conclusion: This study provides new information pertaining to the clinical processes and continuums of care
for mental health in Nunavik. This information has the potential to allow policy makers to base their decisions
concerning the organization of mental health primary care services on contextualized information and in so
doing, to implement effective and adapted solutions to improve care for the long term.