uly 17 marked the launch of the new online home for Evidence Exchange Network (EENet). The site, www.eenet.ca, offers mental health and addictions (MHA) stakeholders a space to connect and a number of resources aimed at making the MHA system in Ontario more evidence-informed. Users can browse through EENet’s products and tools, search for a researcher, and even check out a new animated video!
“It really is a new era for EENet,” says Nandini Saxena, who recently rejoined the network as Manager of Knowledge Exchange (KE) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Saxena was a part of EENet when it was called “The Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Knowledge Exchange Network”—or “OMHAKEN,” a mouthful of an acronym! Since evolving into EENet, the network has remained active; in particular, it has been supporting the KE needs for a suite of projects funded by the Ontario Drug Treatment Funding Program. But it has been doing much of its work “offline”—until now.
“It’s gratifying to return to the network and see how it has grown,” notes Saxena. “The scope of activities is exciting. Plus, the new website has a lot to offer.”
One such item on offer is Evidence in Action, a new EENet product that profiles knowledge generation, exchange, and implementation activities in Ontario. The first edition of Evidence in Action looks at UMIND, a collaboration between Kids’ Health Links Foundation and the Lutherwood Institute for Children and Youth Mental Health. UMIND is a web-based repository for promising practices and evidence-based approaches to children’s mental health. It reflects EENet’s ongoing commitment to youth mental health and addictions, among other areas.
To learn more about EENet, register for a free upcoming webinar here. Heather Bullock (Director of EENet and KE at CAMH) and Jason Guriel (Communications Associate for EENet) will be talking about the network and its new online space.
To watch the most recent webinar, in which Claudio Rocca discusses the Addiction Treatment Data Elements and Provincial Service Categories Project, click here. EENet and Rocca’s project are funded by the Ontario Drug Treatment Funded Program.
The EENet Management and Resource Centre is located at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).