What makes a digital tool worthy of trust? Professor Sally Gainsbury speaks with Maureen Abbott, Director of Innovation at the Mental Health Commission of Canada, about the governance of digital mental health tools and what other digital environments can learn from it. They explore app assessment frameworks, AI and the tension between innovation and precaution, and the role of equity and inclusion in designing safe and accessible digital tools. The conversation also considers how these principles could apply beyond mental health, including gambling, financial platforms and AI-powered financial literacy tools. The episode asks whether effective digital interventions can succeed without first earning the trust of the people they are designed to support.

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Show notes:

Mental Health Commission of Canada – App Assessment Framework:

https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/app-assessment/

E-Mental Health Strategy for Canada:

https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/resource/ementalhealthstrategy/

National Guidance for AI in Mental Health and Substance Use Health Care:

https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/ai-in-mental-health/

WHO – Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health:

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240029200

eMHPrac – Digital Mental Health Resource Directory:

https://www.emhprac.org.au/directory/

Mental Health Commission of Canada:

https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/

Stephen M. R. Covey – The Speed of Trust