Wisdom2Action, in collaboration with RBC Future Launch, undertook a community and stakeholder engagement initiative to identify the needs and preferences of Canadians pertaining to a youth mental health apps database.

Throughout the initiative, Wisdom2Action, guided by a Steering Committee of national and regional youth mental health organizations, and a Youth Advisory Committee with youth from across Canada, consulted with service providers, youth, and parents and caregivers of youth, to capture different stakeholder perspectives on a database of youth mental health apps. Overall, Wisdom2Action conducted 31 key informant interviews and 7 focus groups and received 112 responses to an online public survey.

Wisdom2Action worked with the Steering Committee and Youth Advisory Committee to analyze and understand what we heard. This process identified 32 key findings and 12 recommendations for building a database of youth mental health apps that would meet the needs of Canadian youth, service providers, and family members. Notably, equity, ease of use, integration into existing services, and trust emerged as major themes throughout this consultation process.

The consultative process identified key gaps in youth, provider and family knowledge, comfort and confidence pertaining to youth mental health apps. The process also identified a range of factors that would influence the success and viability of a Canadian youth mental health apps database, including equity, ease of use, integration into existing services, and trust.