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COVID-19 and Mental Health Initiative

White Rose Intelligence March 20, 2026
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The COVID-19 and Mental Health Initiative (CMH) is a Canadian federal research program of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA). CMH is described a "a proactive response to provide urgent knowledge and evidence to support decision-making throughout the mental health responses to the pandemic."[1]

History

INMHA developed the COVID-19 and Mental Health Initiative in response to the declared COVID-19 pandemic.[1:1]

Participants

Three working groups were established, comprised of staff from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The working groups specifically included representatives from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Institute of Aging (IA), Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH), Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH), Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health (IIPH), Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA), and Mental Health Commission of Canada.[2]

Name Position Notes
Samuel Weiss Expert Advisory Panel Co-Chair[3] Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI)
Catherine Zahn Expert Advisory Panel Co-Chair[3:1] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, American Academy of Neurology
Stéphane Bouchard Expert Advisory Panel[3:2] University of Quebec in Outaouais Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology, Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie de l'UQO
Penny Corkum Expert Advisory Panel[3:3] Dalhousie University Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University Department of Psychiatry, Colchester Regional Hospital, IWK Health Centre
Heather Hadjistavropoulos Expert Advisory Panel[3:4] University of Regina, Online Therapy Unit, Regina Health District
Kim Hellemans Expert Advisory Panel[3:5] Carleton University Department of Neuroscience
Mae Katt Expert Advisory Panel[3:6] -
Perry Kendall Expert Advisory Panel[3:7] BC COVID-19 Strategic Research Advisory Committee, Insite, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, British Columbia Ministry of Health
Suzanne King Expert Advisory Panel[3:8] Douglas Research Centre, McGill University Department of Psychiatry
Paul Kurdyak Expert Advisory Panel[3:9] Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR), Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)
Kwame McKenzie Expert Advisory Panel[3:10] Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, Wellesley Institute, Black Scientists' Task Force on Vaccine Equity, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry, National Advisory Council on Poverty (NACP)
Cheryl Regehr Expert Advisory Panel[3:11] University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Institute of Medical Science
Jitender Sareen Expert Advisory Panel[3:12] Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, University of Manitoba Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba Department of Community Health Sciences
Suzanne Stewart Expert Advisory Panel[3:13] Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC), Indigenous Education Network (IEN), Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
Yanbo Zhang Expert Advisory Panel[3:14] University of Alberta Department of Psychiatry

Funding

CMH has been funded by:[1:2]

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  • Government of Canada
  • Health Canada
  • Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
  • New Brunswick Health Research Foundation
  • Ontario Ministry of Health
  • Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care
  • Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
  • Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF)

External links

  • Website

  1. COVID-19 and Mental Health (CMH) Initiative: About. (2021, September 15). Canadian Institutes of Health Research. https://web.archive.org/web/20260320211352/https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52002.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. COVID-19 and Mental Health (CMH) Initiative: Working groups. (2020, June 17). Canadian Institutes of Health Research. https://web.archive.org/web/20200710014855/https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52002.html ↩︎

  3. COVID-19 and Near-Term Research : Expert Advisory Panel (EAP). (2020, September 30). Canadian Institutes of Health Research. https://web.archive.org/web/20260122005114/https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52003.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

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