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Funded Grants

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Evaluating an AI-Driven Mental Health App (LifeLine) in Northern Communities: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Project Overview

Many people in northern and Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan face challenges in accessing mental health support due to distance, limited services, and long wait times. This project aims to work together with community members, Elders, youth, and local health workers to strengthen mental health support using a mobile app that offers daily check-ins, guided conversations, and the ability to connect with care providers remotely. The app is designed to feel culturally safe, supportive, and respectful of local values.

The study will involve youth and adults in La Loche and Whitecap Dakota communities. Participants will try the app, share feedback on what works well, and help guide improvements. By learning directly from the community, this project will show whether this approach helps reduce stress, anxiety, and low mood, while improving continuity of care. The results may help create long-term, community-led digital mental health support across Saskatchewan.

Principal Investigator

Ivar Mendez , University of Saskatchewan

Partners and Donors

Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation

Project Ongoing

Evaluating an AI-Driven Mental Health App (LifeLine) in Northern Communities: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Grant Type

    Team grants

  • Area of research

    Mental Health

  • Disease Area

    Mental illness

  • Competition

    2025-2026 Solutions Program Innovation + Impact Grants

  • Province

    Saskatchewan

  • Start Date

    2026

  • Total Grant Amount

    $150,000

  • Health Canada Contribution

    $75,000

Contact Us

1200 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

Please note all online donations will receive an electronic tax receipt, issued by Brain Canada Foundation.

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Territorial acknowledgement

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. We honour and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation. In our work, we focus our efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those that pertain to improving health for Indigenous Peoples and that focus on advancing our own learning on Indigenous issues.

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Registration number: 89105 2094 RR0001

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