Integrating Indigenous Culture Into Mental Health Support: Apps Can Provide Hope

Technology Could Provide Much-Needed Support for Indigenous Youth

The mental health burden that young people carry seems to grow every year. This is especially true within indigenous communities, where young people are met with complex resource structures that limit their access to mental health services.

To help address this, a 2024 study led by researchers at the University of Toronto and McMaster University explored how digital tools like the JoyPop™ mobile app could offer a culturally resonant and community-informed way to improve wellbeing among Indigenous youth, who continue to face disproportionately high rates of mental health challenges.

“Currently, Indigenous youth contend with convoluted financing structures for health, such as federally-based funding delays that amplify limited local resources.”

Barriers Within the System

Indigenous youth often navigate complex and fragmented mental health systems. As noted in the research, federal funding delays and jurisdictional disputes have created a patchwork of care, exacerbating already limited access to timely and culturally appropriate mental health resources.

Canada’s Indigenous youth are among the most vulnerable in the nation. Culturally tailored digital apps offer an opportunity to create a safe environment for care while promoting community agency.

Study Findings: Exploring the JoyPop™App for First Nations Mental Health

The app, which was designed to help youth build resilience and regulate emotions, was evaluated in collaboration with members of the Six Nations of the Grand River.

The researchers interviewed adult community members to assess the app's cultural fit and utility:

• Feedback emphasized the need for more Indigenous cultural elements within the app’s design and content.

  • Participants suggested incorporating traditional Indigenous symbols and aesthetics, local languages, colours, and sounds to make the app more appealing and relevant.

• The feedback highlighted a preference for features that foster connections within the community, like the “Circle of Trust,” which aligns with the Haudenosaunee values of relationality.

Researcher Recommendations: Enhance Cultural Safety

The findings call for integrating Indigenous perspectives into mental health tools, ensuring these technologies are not only accessible but also culturally pertinent and respectful.

By adapting mental health apps like JoyPop™ to include Indigenous cultural elements, developers can better serve people while simultaneously improving product engagement and efficacy.

Beyond app design, the findings highlight broader policy gaps in Indigenous mental health delivery, including equitable funding models and improved community consultation.

Global Context: Mental Health Gaps Among Indigenous Peoples

Global indigenous populations face similar mental health challenges, largely stemming from systemic inequities, intergenerational trauma, and culturally inaccessible care.

• Tragically, suicide is the second leading cause of death among Native Americans aged 10-34 in the U.S. Ongoing challenges there range from lack of access and stigma to cultural mismatches in mental health services.

• In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a suicide rate approximately 2.5 times higher than non-Indigenous Australians. Similarly, in New Zealand, Māori youth aged 15–24 have suicide rates nearly three times higher than their non-Māori counterparts.

Culturally-tethered digital solutions are now gaining traction abroad. In Australia, for example, the AIMhi Stay Strong has shown promising early results. The app was developed in partnership with Indigenous communities and incorporates local languages and cultural content.

Final Considerations: Technology as Bridge & Barrier

From mental health and physical therapy to data storage and diagnostics, healthcare is undergoing complex transformations, both digital and cultural.

Mobile health tools offer promise but face challenges like language accessibility, internet connectivity, and digital literacy gaps. Unsurprisingly, tools that ignore cultural frameworks are more likely to go unused or be misunderstood, which widens the very gap they aim to bridge.

What the success stories tell us is that, for community-wide implementation can take place, trust in mental health technology will need to be built through active community engagement during the design and evaluation phases.

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