Walking Through New DOORS: My Practicum Experience with the Digital Mental Health Lab

This summer, I had the privilege of completing my practicum for my Master of Public Health program with the Digital Mental Health Lab. I was drawn to this placement because of my interest in digital health equity and the experiences I’ve had co-leading The Age Collective (TAC), a digital storytelling initiative that challenges ageism. TAC showed me how powerful digital platforms can be in driving advocacy and social change, but I was interested in learning more about how digital tools themselves could serve as interventions to improve access and equity in healthcare. My practicum allowed me to explore this through three core projects.

The first project focused on adapting, implementing, and evaluating DOORS (Digital Outreach for Obtaining Resources & Skills), a digital literacy program developed by the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School that helps people living with mental health conditions use smartphones to support their health and well-being. I supported a needs assessment, drafted a pilot evaluation plan, and presented our work at the Canadian Nursing Informatics Association Conference. The second project explored the feasibility of digital navigators – personnel who provide technology support to patients and clinical staff. I contributed to a scoping review and developed interview guides using implementation science frameworks such as the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Finally, I supported the “Nothing About Me, Without Me (Including My Health Record)” project, which advocates for patient access to their electronic clinical notes. I helped co-design patient video testimonials and developed a presentation for an upcoming knowledge-mobilization roadshow with diverse stakeholders.

Alongside these projects, I attended a digital research storytelling workshop at the University of Toronto, where I strengthened my skills in using storytelling to center lived experience and social justice. As part of the workshop, I created a short video on the digital divide to complement my practicum projects (see video below).

There were many lessons I took away from this practicum, but here are my top three. First, I learned the time, care, and commitment it takes to build trust with communities and co-create solutions that reflect their realities. Second, I realized the importance of being flexible and reflective as projects naturally evolve and new perspectives emerge. For instance, the needs assessment challenged my assumptions about digital literacy needs and taught me the importance of creating space for communities to lead conversations in shaping systems that are meant to serve them. Lastly, I learned how applying implementation science frameworks can help move research to practice in ways that are context-specific and equity-informed. These are lessons that will continue to guide my career in public health.

Overall, my practicum not only gave me the chance to apply my MPH learning in practice, but also opened new doors to knowledge, skills, and approaches for promoting health and advancing equity. I am so grateful to the Digital Mental Health Lab team, colleagues at CAMH’s Collaborative Learning College, and community partners and knowledge users for their ongoing mentorship and support and for teaching me something new every day. While I’m heading back to school for my second year of my MPH program at the University of Toronto, it is not goodbye yet! I am so thankful that I get to continue this work in the fall part-time, where I get to keep learning with this incredible team and watch these projects evolve.

Written by: Shanuki Goonasekera

September 2025