Programs of Research

Digital technologies like patient portals, mobile apps, wearable devices, and virtual care are increasingly integrated into clinical care, benefiting patient outcomes. However, many patients and clinicians struggle to effectively select, use, and incorporate these tools due to a lack of digital literacy and training. To address this gap, the role of a Digital Navigator has emerged, designed to help patients and clinicians identify suitable technologies, build digital literacy, troubleshoot issues, and interpret health data. While this role has been trialed in the US, it has not been formalized in Canada, where its scope has varied in pilot programs.

As part of a recently funded CIHR grant led by Dr. Gillian Strudwick and Dr. Sean Kidd, the feasibility and potential functions of Digital Navigators in Canadian healthcare contexts will be explored. Through a review of the literature and interviews with clinicians, people receiving care, and healthcare administrators across Canada, this project aims to uncover the feasibility and utility of Digital Navigators in Canadian healthcare contexts. 

As healthcare organizations use digital tools and innovations to support care, it is important that people receiving care have the skills to effectively use these tools. To ensure that people accessing services at CAMH have skills to use digital tools, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, the Digital Innovation Hub is partnering with CAMH Education to implement a digital literacy program in the Collaborative Learning College. The digital literacy program, otherwise known as Digital Outreach for Obtaining Resources and Skills (DOORS), was developed by researchers at Harvard University. The program will be adapted through the process of co-creation for CAMH and piloted to support people in building digital literacy skills.