MIRA IS NOW LIVE

The Mental Health Virtual Assistant (named MIRA) is an intelligent mental health navigation chatbot. Coordinated by MDSC, in partnership with the Universities of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Dalhousie University, AI4Society, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Hub for Mental Health, MIRA uses world-leading AI (or artificial intelligence) technology with Canadian roots, to connect individuals and their families to trusted mental health services on-demand, filtered to their needs and preferences. The chatbot will serve as an information broker, supporting mental health literacy and providing evidence-based self-care tools, in addition to facilitating general mental health system navigation, and will seek to complement existing services.

There is no replacement for personal support and services. As technology advances, how we access the right mental health resources and knowledge for our personal needs has also evolved. Today, in order to sort through the wide array of information that is out there, finding the right support that will be the most beneficial to our personal needs and preferences should not be a lengthy, frustrating, and confusing process.

MIRA will help you do this. MIRA connects with people where they already are, whenever they need it.

Through a pan-Canadian collaborative approach, MDSC has brought together dozens of national and regional partner organizations to work together on developing this navigational tool which leverages some of this nation’s leading AI experts together with mental health organizations, professionals, caregivers and importantly, Persons With Lived Experience. This is truly a collaborative and collective effort. Our chatbot is currently being tested by a multi-disciplinary team of experts, and once completed, we will be launching in the coming month with the first stream targeted towards healthcare workers and their families, starting with the Provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia. The chatbot will recommend resources to clients selected through a validated resource portal (rather than the open Internet), named the MIRA Library, to ensure resources recommended are viable and of quality.

Supporting Health Care Workers and their Families

Health care workers have an increased risk of disease during pandemics. They also have an increased risk of anxiety, burn-out, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. No one goes through these issues alone – and protecting and caring for our families is crucial. Our prototype is dedicated to supporting healthcare workers and their families, beginning with Alberta and Nova Scotia, with the goal of expanding services Canada-wide.

Objectives

• Offer Canadians an easy-to-use tool to find the right mental health information, programs, services, and resources to address their mental health needs.
• Provide appropriate resources based on the requirements identified by the user, to ensure people are connected to the right service effectively and efficiently.
• Build strong partnerships among mental health providers from the public, private, and voluntary sectors.
• Develop a trusted, nationally expansive tool, which draws upon pre-assessed, high-quality resources – reviewed by members of a multi-disciplinary — 30+ member Expert Advisory Committee.

• Offer a resource library that is continuously checked for quality by subject matter experts.

Get engaged and help grow this collaborative resource. We are actively inviting organizations to come and join our collective efforts. Join the team as an organizational Partner, Corporate Sponsor, Volunteer or apply to be on our Expert Advisory Committee. We all have a role to play in improving mental health care access and knowledge. If you are interested in supporting this innovative health care navigation technology, contact us today.

More information to come, please come back for updates.

University of Alberta Ethics Research Board ID: Pro00109148.

Project Partners

Seed Funders