Mental Health & Wellbeing in Canada
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Resources and Background Reading
A special thank you for helping to gather resources: Maureen Abbott, Manager, Programs and Priorities, Access to Quality Mental Health Services / Gestionnaire, Programmes et priorités, Accès à des services de santé mentale de qualité / Mental Health Commission of Canada / Commission de la santé mentale du Canada
There is a huge economic cost to support those experiencing mental illness and needing support in Canada, even more so than diabetes and heart disease. It is costly and it is also connected with physical health services. For example, emergency departments where people may go in crisis are extremely crowded and many people are also having trouble getting treatment because they don’t have a family doctor.
It is important to note is that mental health services are not funded at the federal level, beside through Wellness Together Canada.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) was included in a case study in a white paper on governance frameworks in digital mental health with the Global Governance Toolkit for Digital Mental Health (November 2022). It was published by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Deloitte. This document provides an overview of mental health in Canada and what is being done at the MHCC.
Mental Health Commission of Canada / Commission de la sante mentale du canada
https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/app-assessment/
The assessment framework was created in collaboration with diverse stakeholders across Canada — including people with lived and living experience — and with the support of ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps).
The 7 main standards:
Data and privacy
Clinical evidence
Clinical safety
Usability and accessibility
Security and technical stability
Cultural safety, social responsibility, and equity
Enhanced data sovereignty
For more information on customizable app libraries or using our Mental Health App Assessment Framework in other contexts, email us at access@mentalhealthcommission.ca.
Nous avons créé ce cadre d’évaluation en collaboration avec diverses parties prenantes de part et d’autre du Canada - y compris des personnes ayant une expérience de vie et un vécu- et avec le soutien d’ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps).
L’Organisation comprend sept normes principales :
Données et vie privée
Données cliniques
Sécurité clinique
Facilité d’utilisation et accessibilité
Sécurité et stabilité technique
Sécurité culturelle, responsabilité sociale et équité
Renforcement de la souveraineté des données
Pour obtenir plus de renseignements sur les bibliothèques d’applications personnalisables ou sur l’utilisation de notre cadre d’évaluation des applications en santé mentale dans d’autres contextes, envoyez-nous un courriel à l’adresse acces@commissionsantementale.ca.
The MHCC Mental Health App Assessment Framework: Given the proliferation of mental health apps in Canada and that there were no standards for quality for these apps, it was imperative for the safety of the Canadian public that standards be developed. The MHCC just finalized the Mental Health App Assessment Framework for Canada, following a public review and after working on it for 2 years, with support from the Organization for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) in the UK. We worked with 200 Canadian and international stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including those with lived and living experience, policy makers, government officials, app developers and designers, academic researchers, and mental health service providers. We developed with stakeholders the important content of the “Cultural Safety, Social Responsibility and Equity” standard in the Assessment Framework for Mental Health Apps in Canada and this is new content that has not yet been done in other countries. It includes content on key topics such as Indigenous data security and privacy, gender equity, representation from the BIPOC community in app content and visuals, usability and accessibility, and lived experience involvement in app development.
More information about the MHCC Framework and investing in mental health app libraries
The MHCC is also turning the Framework into an online digital app review engine so apps can be reviewed easily and quickly against the framework. We are currently collaborating with provinces, territories, and individual organizations interested in investing in mental health app libraries for their regions. These customizable app libraries allow these stakeholders to assess mental health apps with the Framework and highlight them for residents and clients in the form of an app library. While our Framework was developed for mental health apps in Canada, once validated, its content may also be applicable to other health apps or jurisdictions. For more information on app libraries or using the MHCC Mental Health App Assessment Framework content in other contexts, email us at access@mentalhealthcommission.ca
The E-Mental Health Implementation Learning Modules (developed from the MHCC E-Mental Health Implementation Toolkit) support the learnings and establishment of e-mental health programs.
The course was developed in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. It reflects information gathered from the knowledge and experiences of practitioners and research groups, an environmental scan and review of existing literature, interviews conducted with key informants across Canada and internationally, peer-reviewed research, templates, and case studies. The online learning modules are free, self-directed, and designed to give mental health providers, managers, leaders, and students the knowledge and skills they need to integrate e-mental health into daily practice, and support effective, person-centred e-mental health service delivery.
The e-modules were launched in September 2021, and over 1000 people are now accessing the course in English or French and over 100 people completed the entire course, which is accredited by the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
E-Mental Health Strategy for Canada: The MHCC has been mandated with developing Canada’s first e-mental health strategy by 2024.
With the advancement of technology and virtual integration in the delivery of mental health care and services there has been a call from stakeholders, governments, and communities to set a strategic focus for the future of e-mental health – as we are seeing in other jurisdictions. Work has been underway since the wake of 2022 with stakeholder consultations and engagement to provide feedback as well as items for consideration on a strategy approach including its potential implications and results.
The work is guided and supported by the development of an Advisory Committee for the E-Mental Health Strategy for Canada. The committee is comprised of diversified players and change makers in the e-mental health sector including people with lived and living experience to meaningfully provide their expertise to the building and deployment of Canada’s e-mental health strategy.
In 2021, we published reports on the MHCC’s work on AI in mental health in collaboration with CADTH: Literature Review and Environmental Scan on the uses and trends of AI in mental health accessible here: https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/resource/artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-services-an-environmental-scan/. We keep a pulse on new and exciting technologies that support mental health services, including virtual reality, 360 environments and apps which are increasingly being used with mental health services. We have collaborated and hosted a number of events on AI in e-mental health and will continue to keep the conversation going on AI in mental health.
The overall website for our E-Mental Health work and resources can also be found here
If you have something you’d like to share reach out to: becky@beckyinkster.com