Background: The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to deliver mental health and addictions (MHA) services is a global priority, especially considering the urgent shift towards virtual delivery of care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to monitor the evolving role of technology in MHA services. Given that MHA policy documents represent the highest level of priorities for a government’s vision and strategy for mental health care, one starting point is to measure the frequency with which technology is mentioned and the terms used to describe its use in MHA policy documents (before, during, and after COVID-19). Yet, to our knowledge, no such review of the extent to which ICTs are referred to in Canadian MHA policy documents exists to date. Objective: The objective of this systematic policy review was to examine the extent to which technology is addressed in Canadian government–based MHA policy documents prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to establish a baseline for documenting change. Methods: We reviewed 22 government-based MHA policy documents, published between 2011 and 2019 by 13 Canadian provinces and territories. We conducted content analysis to synthesize the policy priorities addressed in these documents into key themes, and then systematically searched for and tabulated the use of 39 technology-related keywords (in English and French) to describe and compare jurisdictions. Results: Technology was addressed in every document, however, to a varying degree. Of the 39 searched keywords, we identified 22 categories of keywords pertaining to the use of technology to deliver MHA services and information. The 6 most common categories were tele (n=16/22), phone (n=12/22), tech (n=11/22), online (n=10/22), line (n=10/22), and web (n=10/22), with n being the number of policy documents in which the category was mentioned out of 22 documents. The use of terms referring to advanced technologies, such as virtual (n=6/22) and app (n= 4/22), were less frequent. Additionally, policy documents from some provinces and territories (eg, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador) mentioned a diverse range of ICTs, whereas others described only 1 form of ICT. Conclusions: This review indicates that technology has been given limited strategic attention in Canadian MHA policy. Policy makers may have limited knowledge on the evidence and potential of using technology in this field, highlighting the value for knowledge translation and collaborative initiatives among policy makers and researchers. The development of a pan-Canadian framework for action addressing the integration and coordination of technology in mental health services can also guide initiatives in this field. Our findings provide a prepandemic baseline and replicable methods to monitor how the use of technology-supported services and innovations emerge relative to other priorities in MHA policy during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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中文翻译：

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在基于政府的心理健康和成瘾中优先考虑技术远景和战略文件：系统的政策审查

背景：使用信息和通信技术（ICT）来提供精神健康和成瘾（MHA）服务是全球优先事项，尤其是考虑到因应COVID-19大流行而向虚拟提供服务的紧急转变。监视技术在MHA服务中不断发展的作用非常重要。鉴于MHA政策文件代表了政府关于精神卫生保健的愿景和战略的最高优先级，因此一个出发点是衡量提及技术的频率以及用于描述其在MHA政策文件中的使用的术语（之前，在COVID-19期间和之后）。然而，据我们所知，迄今为止，尚不存在对加拿大MHA政策文件中提及ICT的程度的此类审查。客观的：这项系统的政策审查的目的是在COVID-19大流行之前检查基于加拿大政府的MHA政策文件中涉及的技术范围，以建立记录变更的基准。方法：我们审查了22个基于政府的MHA政策文件，这些文件于2011年至2019年之间由13个加拿大省和地区发布。我们进行了内容分析，以将这些文档中提到的政策重点综合为关键主题，然后系统地搜索和列表使用39个与技术相关的关键字（英语和法语）来描述和比较管辖区。结果：但是，每个文档都对技术进行了不同程度的讨论。在搜索到的39个关键字中，我们确定了22类与使用技术来提供MHA服务和信息有关的关键字。6种最常见的类别是电话（n = 16/22），电话（n = 12/22），技术（n = 11/22），在线（n = 10/22），线路（n = 10/22） ，以及web（n = 10/22），其中n是22个文档中提及该类别的策略文档的数量。使用涉及虚拟技术（n = 6/22）和应用程序（n = 4/22）等先进技术的术语的频率较低。此外，一些省和地区（例如，艾伯塔省，纽芬兰省和拉布拉多省）的政策文件提到了各种信息通信技术，而其他国家仅介绍了一种形式的信息通信技术。结论：这项审查表明技术在加拿大MHA政策中受到了有限的战略关注。决策者可能对在该领域使用技术的证据和潜力知之甚少，这突显了决策者和研究人员之间进行知识转化和开展合作计划的价值。制定解决精神卫生服务中技术集成和协调问题的泛加拿大行动框架也可以指导这一领域的倡议。我们的发现提供了大流行前的基线和可复制的方法，以监控在COVID-19大流行期间和之后，与MHA政策中其他优先事项相比，使用技术支持的服务和创新的情况。制定解决精神卫生服务中技术整合和协调问题的泛加拿大行动框架也可以指导这一领域的举措。我们的发现提供了大流行前的基线和可复制的方法，以监控在COVID-19大流行期间和之后，与MHA政策中其他优先事项相比，使用技术支持的服务和创新的情况。制定解决精神卫生服务中技术整合和协调问题的泛加拿大行动框架也可以指导这一领域的举措。我们的发现提供了大流行前的基线和可复制的方法，以监控在COVID-19大流行期间和之后，与MHA政策中其他优先事项相比，使用技术支持的服务和创新的情况。

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