Israa Nasir

Prevention is an underutilized area of intervention for mental health care. Mental health prevention is defined as interventions focused on minimizing the likelihood of mental health issues. Most resources are currently focused on responsive or reactive interventions: in-patient services, out-patient treatment and therapy, community health centers, police and crisis services etc. However, to be successful, these interventions require multiple factors: proper awareness of mental illness and symptoms; access to service locations and providers; culturally-appropriate services, providers and treatments. This can create significant barriers to accessing mental health care, especially in marginalized communities. In this session, we will discuss how we can utilize technology to fill in the gaps and use it as a powerful tool for prevention; thereby reducing the strain on the healthcare system and improving health outcomes.

Preventative mental healthcare using technology includes: Education: access to culturally-aware mental health psycho-education to improve mental health literacy (not just related to mental illness, but also around preventative mental wellness habits) Skills-building: self-management and skills building for emotional regulation, emotional literacy, building and tracking positive health habits, self-directed clinically validated mental health programs (such as iCBT,) Symptom management: identifying warning signs, screening tools, and tracking symptoms for treatment adherence Connectedness: peer support and social groups for increasing connectedness and community

This session will focus on:

• Defining the parameters of digital preventative mental healthcare and how it can be used
• How to ensure clinical integrity of digital solutions
• How to improve mental health equity across marginalized communities using digital preventative mental health solutions