Prioritising a culturally safe e-Mental Health research agenda in Aotearoa New Zealand: A sector survey report

Objective To collect mental health and addiction service providers’ opinions about priorities for an e-Mental Health (eMH) research agenda focused on delivering culturally safe eMH in Aotearoa New Zealand. Method Service providers were recruited to participate in an anonymous online survey, which asked participants to rate the importance of potential research domains and items on a continuous scale from 1 to 10. The mean values of each item were normalised to develop a priority index. Results 48 participants rated at least one of the listed research items. The highest-rated items were (i) identifying strategies to improve access; co-developing eMH with the community (ii) a set of competencies required for delivering culturally safe care, (iii) a set of meaningful clinical outcomes that can be achieved via eMH, (iv) guidelines for the delivery of eMH services and (v) investigating the extent to which eMH could meet the mental health needs of these communities. ‘Standards and guidelines’ was the domain with the highest priority index. Conclusions Mental health and addiction service providers in Aotearoa New Zealand prioritised an eMH research agenda that is focused on pro-equity outcomes and incorporating the voices and experiences of the communities they seek to serve.