JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the mental health care environment. AI tools are increasingly accessed by clients and service users. Mental health professionals must be prepared to not only use AI, but to have conversations about it when delivering care. Despite the potential for AI to enable more efficient, reliable, and higher-quality care delivery, there exists a persistent gap among mental health professionals in the adoption of AI.

Objective:

A needs assessment was conducted among mental health professionals to (1) understand the learning needs of the workforce and their attitudes towards AI, and (2) inform the development of AI education curricula and knowledge translation products.

Methods:

A qualitative descriptive approach was taken to explore the needs of mental health professionals in their adoption of AI through semi-structured interviews. To reach maximum variation sampling, mental health professionals (e.g., psychiatrists, mental health nurses, educators, scientists, social workers) in various settings across Ontario (e.g., urban/rural, public/private sector, clinical/research) were recruited.

Results:

Twenty individuals were recruited. Participants included practitioners (n = 9 social workers, n = 1 mental health nurse), educator-scientists (n = 5 dual role as professor/lecturer and researcher), and practitioner-scientists (n = 3 dual role as researcher and psychiatrist, n = 2 dual role as researcher and mental health nurse). Four major themes emerged: (1) mental health professionals need to understand the relevance and practicality of AI to facilitate digitally compassionate uses of AI and decrease the resistance to AI adoption, (2) barriers within the mental health system should be considered in AI adoption, (3) organizations can increase AI buy-in by promoting mental health-specific standards of AI governance and funding, and (4) AI training initiatives specific to mental health should be developed to fill knowledge gaps.

Conclusions:

Artificial intelligence technologies are starting to emerge within mental health care. While many digital tools, virtual services, and mobile applications are designed using AI algorithms, mental health professionals have generally been slower in the adoption of AI. As indicated by findings from this study, implications are threefold. At the individual level, digital professionals must see the value in digitally compassionate tools that retain a humanistic approach to care. For mental health professionals, the resistance towards AI adoption must be acknowledged through education initiatives to raise awareness about the relevance, practicality, and benefits of AI. At the organizational level, digital professionals and leadership must collaborate on governance and funding structures to promote employee buy-in. At the societal level, digital and mental health professionals should collaborate in the creation of formal AI training programs specific to mental health to address gaps in knowledge. This study promotes the design of relevant and sustainable education programs to support the adoption of AI within the mental health care sphere.