IAMHRF Member News Roundup: Third Quarter of 2026 

Highlights from across the Alliance

Over the past few months, IAMHRF members have been building both the research base and the public case for mental health investment. From a major new national research consortium in Canada to fresh polling on what the public expects from mental health research and services, here are some highlights from across our membership.

CIHR backs Canada’s first national cannabis and brain health consortium

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is investing CAD 24 million to establish Canada’s first national cannabis and brain health research consortium. Ten teams will study cannabis and brain health across the lifespan, including prenatal exposure, sleep, and use among people living with psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and epilepsy. The consortium will also build national infrastructure for harmonising and sharing data across provinces, and commits to including populations historically underrepresented in cannabis research. For a flavour of the work under way, Patricia Conrod discusses a recent convening of the consortium in a short video.

Wellcome polling finds broad public backing for early intervention, but deep doubt about access

Polling commissioned by Wellcome and conducted by More in Common surveyed more than 4,000 UK adults, supplemented by focus groups. Three-quarters considered mental health as important as physical health, and 81 per cent supported earlier intervention in preference to concentrating provision on the most severe cases, with that support consistent across the political spectrum. Few endorsed the characterisation of public concern as excessive sensitivity: 22 per cent regarded mental health as being used as an excuse, against 63 per cent who considered such conversations to reflect genuine concern. Sixty-five per cent expected scientific advances to benefit patients, although focus group participants doubted that they themselves would gain access, anticipating waiting lists. 

In light of these findings, we and our members welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment, reported by the BBC, that the forthcoming Mental Health Strategy will set clear standards to reduce mental health waiting times for people of all ages. As our member MQ Mental Health Research has said, people have been accepting for far too long that they can wait months, and sometimes years, to receive mental health support and treatment. MQ has joined others in calling for mental health to receive the same focus and attention as physical health through its Head On campaign.