Mental Health and Mentorship: MIT’s Hacking Medicine GrandHack Recap
The following is an article by Brittany Sigler, MPH, a leader and champion of digital mental health strategy and research at the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. In this role, Brittany acts as a gatekeeper for product evaluation, procurement, and partnerships, while also working as an internal consultant on product strategy and design.
Since starting my day job — identifying new ways to leverage data, technology, and design to maximize the reach and impact of mental health programs in NYC (my night job is trying to work on my Doctor of Public Health) — I’ve been taken by the power of Twitter to keep me apprised of digital health news and events. One day about a month back, I was on this favorite networking tool when I saw a post about an upcoming MIT Hacking Medicine GrandHack event that would be taking place right here in New York City. And hey, one of the tracks was on mental health and they were seeking mentors.
I decided to apply. Why? My motivations were two-fold:
- On any given day my job calls for: helping a team decide whether to build an app; determining whether or not to establish a partnership involving an existing digital product; or redesigning a product or process to work a little better. I also spend a decent chunk of time listening to pitches from mental health and civic design startups who want to work with us, where I assess which companies are worth further exploring partnerships with my colleagues. More often than not, I do not forward these pitches as they are rarely based on evidence. Or their founders do not directly talk to their targeted users! I want to though, I really, really want to. I’d love for my plate to be overflowing with pilots and partnerships and product development that leverages technology and design to improve the mental health of the neediest New Yorkers. But in good conscience, I just can’t dive in on a project that is not based on science. How does this relate to a hackathon? My mind has been wandering of late on ways I can contribute to the development of the good ideas I wish came across my desk. I may not have those ideas myself, but I do know what I’m looking for when I’m trying to validate a solution and I’d love to help foster the development of such products. So, I figured an event grounded in the notion of fertilizing innovative ideas was a good place to start.
- I’m selfish. I’ve been pitching the idea of a government-run hackathon for some time (hopefully more on that soon on my Twitter/LinkedIn!). I wanted to experience an analogous event in the flesh so I could add some meat to my proposal… And to see if it was even possible to replicate within the confines of a government agency and all of our hurdles, ermmm… processes. I figured, why not do some recon? My fabulous supervisor was on board and even offered some comp time — check that out! Approvals in place, and my mentor application accepted, I was ready to go.
Fast forward to the day of:
After walking past the non-descript highrise a couple times, I made my way up to the Hackathon. When I entered, I saw at least 20 tables with ~10 hackers at each, hunkered down over laptops, scribbling on whiteboards, and waving animatedly at each other. I was ready to dive into the swarm, but first I was shepherded off into another room where I’d get some training on how to effectively mentor.
Hats off to the MIT Hacking Medicine team: it was very clear this was not their first event. The organizers led us through a presentation explaining what’s helpful — for example, asking why? Then why again, and also a third time to really get a team thinking about the rationale behind their strategy. We also talked about what’s really not helpful — for instance saying something’s a bad idea without an explanation or without steering them in a better direction. Sometimes these things were obvious (of course it’s never okay to put people down!), but others weren’t (a simple question like asking a team what they’re working on can subtly help them craft their pitch). Then we were let loose.
While pediatric cancer and physical rehabilitation are certainly areas worthy of innovative solutions, my expertise is slim to non-existent on those topics so off I went to the mental health floor. To my delight, there were about 10 tables solely devoted to teams working on mental health! And my, did they have a range of solutions to a huge spread of challenges. It really goes to show that while funding has been through the roof for digital mental health, this field has ample room for new players to join the field — and they should (as per my first reason for attendance above)!
I befriended an enthusiastic pediatric psychiatrist from Boston and we started making the rounds through the tables together: he sharing his clinical expertise, and me, my background in tech procurement, implementation, and research with vulnerable populations. It was humbling as an early-stage professional to feel I was able to impart any guidance of value (particularly when teams sought me out for follow-up advice), which on a personal level, also acted to affirm the time and effort I’ve spent accruing knowledge and experience in the field of digital health. I think this says a lot, too, about the approachability of this field: it’s so nascent, anyone has a change make a significant impact. It’s a stage where it feels democratized, which I’ve yet to experience in other facets of the healthcare ecosystem.
What was most thrilling that day, though, was when I encountered a team whose strategy was so tight they didn’t need any advice at all. I was wowed by the range of ideas I was being presented with, including:
- Caregiver mental health for those supporting individuals experiencing cognitive decline
- A “ClassPass for mental health” prevention app featuring group-based activities
- Couples therapy for millenials (though they were thinking about how this could tie to dating apps!)
- A tool to facilitate conversations for friends and family of those dealing with substance use and mental health conditions
These were just a subset, but I’ve selected the ones that really stood out to me for their fresh, creative thinking, and for the most part, hugely under-tapped areas of need. I sincerely hope to see some of these innovations come to market — and that these teams come seek me out!
Along these lines, if you’re interested in product research, startups (especially those helping eliminate health disparities!), or improving access to mental health in New York, please reach out! You can find me here on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Views expressed within this post reflect the opinions of Brittany Sigler alone, and do not represent those of the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.
