ACCESS Open Minds

As CIHR’s first Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) initiative, ACCESS Open Minds (AOM) was awarded one of the largest mental health grants in Canadian history ($25 million; 2014-25 with extension). Iyer directs ACCESS’s research, service transformation, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge translation (KT). The network’s 16 sites in seven provinces and one territory served urban, rural, remote, First Nations, Inuit, visible minority, post-secondary, and homeless youths (aged 11 to 25). At these sites, services were transformed to identify needs early, respond rapidly, and provide appropriate, youth-friendly care. AOM's research strategy was devised to create the first pan-Canadian portrait of help-seeking youths with mental health and substance use problems, the services they receive and their outcomes, and included multi-site quantitative, qualitative, arts-based and economic evaluation components.

​

The development of this research strategy has informed other Canadian and global projects on how to engage all stakeholder groups and deploy and evaluate complex healthcare interventions in diverse contexts. AOM's data and insights have spurred provincial and federal youth mental health and integrated youth services initiatives; are shaping investments in Indigenous youth mental health; and are advancing knowledge about youth mental health presentations and service delivery. Since 2022, Iyer has been working with Dr. Mushquash, an Indigenous scholar with mental health expertise, to grow and co-lead an Indigenous youth services research network under CIHR's IYS-NET initiative. This network builds on the AOM Indigenous Council and its work, and brings Indigenous youths, communities, leaders, researchers, and organizations across the nation.