Project Summary

People receiving hemodialysis often experience mental health challenges that are under-recognized and under-treated. The Mind the Gap project addresses this critical gap by implementing accessible, culturally sensitive mental health supports tailored to people on dialysis. Guided by patient partners, including Indigenous partners, the team is co-developing and testing interventions like a provincial mental health care pathway in Alberta and a dialectical behaviour therapy program in Manitoba to improve wellbeing and quality of life. 
 

Why This Work Matters

Mental health care is a top priority for dialysis patients, but it remains under-addressed in clinical practice. Mind the Gap brings together patients, caregivers, and care providers to co-design solutions that reflect lived experience and diverse cultural needs. By integrating mental health supports into dialysis care, the project aims to promote equity, improve patient outcomes, and empower individuals to manage the emotional challenges of kidney failure alongside their physical health. 

Patient Partner Testimonial

As a patient partner, it is very meaningful to be on the ‘ground floor’ of building a mental health pathway. Giving the patient perspective on the many aspects of building a pathway has been an interesting process, and it’s not over yet.

Loretta Lee, Alberta

Project Objectives 

• Build an accessible, up-to-date inventory of mental health supports available to Canadians receiving dialysis. 

• Identify culturally sensitive and individualized approaches to mental health care for people on hemodialysis, including those who are Indigenous or gender-diverse. 

• Develop, implement, and evaluate tailored mental health interventions, including DBT and care pathways, for people on hemodialysis in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. 

• Collaborate with patients and partners to co-design scalable tools and strategies for improving mental health support in dialysis settings. 

• Adapt and promote sustainable use of successful interventions across other provinces to improve equity and access to mental health care in kidney care. 

Recent Activities & Progress

• Completed a national inventory of dialysis-related mental health resources, available online with ongoing updates planned for 2025. 

• Hosted a prioritizing workshop in Winnipeg to identify the top five mental health challenges in facility-based hemodialysis; analysis and publication underway. 

• Initiated a DBT pilot program in Manitoba and Nova Scotia; project design finalized and ethics submission in progress. 

• Continued implementation of Alberta’s Pathway for Mental Health in Dialysis, including a co-designed patient version. Paper submitted to peer-reviewed journal. 

• Presented eight abstracts at national and international conferences and published two manuscripts on pharmacological and pathway-based mental health interventions.