Sociologist and researcher Dr. Flora Matheson, PhD of St. Michael’s Hospital discovered that Ontario women are far more likely to use mental health services compared to men. The same study showed that when men and women suffer from a physical illness (such as diabetes) plus a mental illness that they are more likely to use mental health services compared to those who do not suffer from a physical illness. However, even women without a physical illness are more likely to use mental health services compared to men with both a physical and a mental illness. Further study is indeed required to better understand the causes of these gender-based health disparities.
