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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a number of negative health related consequences, including impacts on mental health. More than 22% of Canadians reported that they had felt depressed in the last week, in response to a December 2020 national survey. Given the need to physically distance during the pandemic, and the increase in demand for mental health services, digital interventions that support mental health and wellness may be beneficial. ObjectiveThe purpose of this research was to identify digital interventions that could be used to support the mental health of the Canadian general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives were to identify (1) the populations these interventions were developed for, inclusive of exploring areas of equity such as socioeconomic status, sex/gender, race/ethnicity and culture, and relevance to Indigenous peoples and communities; (2) the effect of the interventions; and (3) any barriers or facilitators to the use of the intervention. MethodsThis study was completed using a Cochrane Rapid Review methodology. A search of Embase, PsycInfo, Medline, and Web of Science, along with Google, Million Short, and popular mobile app libraries, was conducted. Two screeners were involved in applying inclusion criteria using Covidence software. Academic articles and mobile apps identified were screened using the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a Variety of Fields resource, the American Psychiatric Association App Evaluation Framework, and the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s guidance on app assessment and selection. ResultsA total of 31 mobile apps and 114 web-based resources (eg, telemedicine, virtual peer support groups, discussion forums, etc) that could be used to support the mental health of the Canadian population during the pandemic were identified. These resources have been listed on a publicly available website along with search tags that may help an individual make a suitable selection. Variability exists in the populations that the interventions were developed for, and little assessment has been done with regard to areas of equity. The effect of the interventions was not reported for all those identified in this synthesis; however, for those that did report the effect, it was shown that they were effective in the context that they were used. A number of barriers and facilitators to using these interventions were identified, such as access, cost, and connectivity. ConclusionsA number of digital interventions that could support population mental health in Canada during the global COVID-19 pandemic were identified, indicating that individuals have several options to choose from. These interventions vary in their purpose, approach, design, cost, and targeted user group. While some research and digital interventions addressed equity-related considerations, more research and focused attention should be given to this area.

BackgroundCompassion is a vital component to the achievement of positive health outcomes, particularly in mental health care. The rise of digital technologies may influence the delivery of compassionate care, and thus this relationship between compassion and digital health care needs to be better understood. ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to identify existing digital technologies being used by patients and health professionals in the delivery of mental health care, understand how digital technologies are being used in the delivery of compassionate mental health care, and determine the facilitators of and barriers to digital technology use among patients and health professionals in the delivery of compassionate mental health care. MethodsWe conducted this scoping review through a search of Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), MEDLINE In-Process and EPub Ahead of Print, PsycINFO, and Web of Science for articles published from 1990 to 2019. ResultsOf the 4472 articles screened, 37 articles were included for data extraction. Telemedicine was the most widely used technology by mental health professionals. Digital technologies were described as facilitating compassionate care and were classified using a conceptual model to identify each digital intersection with compassionate care. Facilitators of and barriers to providing compassionate care through digital technology were identified, including increased safety for providers, health care professional perceptions and abilities, and the use of picture-in-picture feedback to evaluate social cues. ConclusionsImplementing digital technology into mental health care can improve the current delivery of compassionate care and create novel ways to provide compassion. However, as this is a new area of study, mental health professionals and organizations alike should be mindful that compassionate human-centered care is maintained in the delivery of digital health care. Future research could develop tools to facilitate and evaluate the enactment of compassion within digital health care.

Introduction: Health and social service providers have limited expertise with regard to assessing and treating psychiatric disorders in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The aim of this study was to describe the development and pilot evaluation of a virtual capacity-building program (Project ECHO) focused on supporting the mental health of adults with these disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Method: The pilot program consisted of 12 weekly 1.5 hour sessions hosted through a video-conferencing platform, with a combined focus of didactic teaching and case-based learning, led by an interprofessional team of subject matter experts. The program evaluation was informed by Moore's evaluation framework for continuing medical education. Ongoing attendance tracking, weekly surveys, and pre-post questionnaires were used to evaluate participation, satisfaction, learning and self-efficacy, and practice change. Results: The program included 62 participants from across Ontario, Canada, from both the health and social service sectors. Seventy-three percent of participants attended six or more sessions, with high participant satisfaction ratings seen with the program. A statistically significant improvement in self-efficacy mean scores of 14.7% was observed pre-post. Seventy-four percent of respondents indicated that they had changed their practice because of participating in this ECHO. Conclusion: Good participant retention, satisfaction, and increased confidence suggests this cross-sector virtual medical education program may have value for health and social service providers as they support the mental health of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

With the increasing application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in Medicine at large, medical educators are urged to gain an understanding and implement NLP techniques within their own education programs to improve the workflow and make significant and rapid improvements in their programs. This paper aims to provide twelve essential tips inclusive of both conceptual and technical factors to facilitate the successful integration of NLP in medical education program evaluation. These twelve tips range from advising on various stages of planning the evaluation process, considerations for data collection, and reflections on preprocessing of data in preparation for analysis and interpretation of results. Using these twelve tips as a framework, medical researchers, educators, and administrators will have an understanding and reference to navigating applications of NLP and be able to unlock its potential for enhancing the evaluation of their own medical education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]