Tina Chan, M.Sc. candidate in Applied Health Sciences has been speaking with the media recently as her work on mental health support and mental health gameful design gains traction.
BBC Toronto Interview with Dan Lytwyn
April 12, 2019
BBC Journalist Dan Lytwyn reached out to Tina Chan to speak to her about the creation of her PASS Kits, a mental health first-aid kit designed to assist with stress management, after seeing her featured in Maclean's Magazine. Tina's feature in the magazine focused on how the idea of the PASS Kit came to be and the development of the PASS kit items.
Dan and Tina discussed the current needs of post-secondary schools in Canada for mental health during exam time.
Chan also addressed the fact that the PASS kit existed as a resource to support mental health treatment and not as supplement for said treatment.
The full clip can be watched on the BBC Website titled as "University student creates first aid kit for mental health".
The Morning Edition K-W with Craig Norris
April 9, 2019
Mental health is a difficult topic and there has been an increased need for conversations in light of recent events. Norris looked to Chan for a student's perspective on the topic.
The two discussed different resources available to students struggling during the exam season and in daily life.
Visit the CBC website to hear Craig and Tina's full discussion as well as the article featuring their conversation. Additionally, check out Tina's previous CBC feature discussing her PASS kit.
AI for Good Hack-A-Thon
March
22-23,
2019
Tina and her HCI teammates Andrew Cen, Joanna Liu (undergrad), Kenny Fung and Marvin Pafla took the first place prize of $5000 at the AI for Good Hack-a-thon. Their winning app was designed to assist mental health professionals in the treatment of bipolar disorder by performing sentiment analysis on patient journal entries, giving counselors a "snap-shot" of patient moods outside of appointments.
Take a look at our previous article featuring the team here.
Fanshawe Innovation Week
March 18, 2019
Tina Chan spoke at Fanshawe College Innovation Week about developing her PASS Kit when she discovered on- & off-campus support did not prove very successful for herself and other students. The University of Waterloo gives out the PASS kit to undergrad students during orientation week.
As a student experiencing her own stresses during school, Tina recognized the areas in the treatment process that needed improvements and innovated them, sparking the creation of her company Panic, Anxiety, and Stress Support Inc. The kit contains mental health support items like earplugs, a sleeping mask, and therapeutic flash cards.