Update: July 2, 2020
We are please to provide a rapid Knowledge Synthesis entitled Harnessing digital mental health to improve equity in mental health care in the context of COVID-19: Needs, best-practices and opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. This document is one of the first outputs from the Digital Hub's Disaster Resilience and Trauma Working Group's work plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic funded by a competitive grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR).
April 29, 2020
The Disaster Resilience and Trauma Working Group convened on April 27, 2020 to discuss its response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and spread, including the Digital Hub's role in sharing best practices, exploring the role of digital technology in supporting economies’ mental health response, and developing a forward-thinking strategy to support mental health and economic recovery in the region.
APEC economies are currently at different stages of the pandemic, taking varying approaches to the development and roll-out of digital and virtual mental health care. This experience represents an important opportunity for cross-regional learning and mobilization. The Digital Hub's Disaster Resilience and Trauma Working Group has therefore developed a work plan to support the generation, synthesis, and mobilization of new evidence on the use of digital technologies for mental health among high-risk populations in the context of COVID-19. The overall goal is to conduct knowledge synthesis and mobilization to support planning and implementation of digital mental health initiatives with an emphasis on access by high-risk populations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic across the APEC region.
For more information on the planned activies, the Work Plan summary can be downloaded here.
We are also pleased to announce that this work has just been awarded funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), Canada's federal funding agency for health research, through the competitive Knowledge Synthesis: COVID-19 in Mental Health and Substance Use Operating Grant.
The Working Group team consists of a group of experts, including knowledge users, from nine APEC countries. The group brings research, care delivery and policy expertise in mental health, including mental health in emergency situations. Knowledge users are poised to apply the findings and recommendations to the delivery of enhanced digital mental health care for at-risk populations across the APEC region.