Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health Webinar: Can Smartphone Apps Impact Substance Use and Mental Health? A Look at the Evidence

An increasing number of people are turning towards their devices for mindfulness, meditation, or mood tracking. These applications are also being used to manage serious conditions ranging from substance use to PTSD.

Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) is excited to announce an upcoming webinar series event on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026, from 12 – 1 PM ET via ZOOM. The topic is “Can Smartphone Apps Impact Substance Use and Mental Health? A Look at the Evidence.”

This session will focus on themes emerging from research on the use of smartphone applications for the management of mental health. In rural spaces, distance to a provider or limited access to resources can impact or delay care, and access to digital health technologies such as smartphone apps may be particularly useful.

For this discussion, we welcome several speakers; Dr. Michael Beazely, an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy, and the Dean of Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies for the Faculty of Science. He also acts as a Research Chair for Gateway CERH on Rural Substance Use.

Hedaya Al-Qazli, a fourth-year pharmacy student currently completing her clinical placement in the Hamilton region. Hedaya has a strong interest in hospital pharmacy, cardiology, and quality improvement. She has experience working on interdisciplinary teams and leading projects in clinical settings and will be starting her residency at Hamilton Health Sciences this September.

Lauren Van Ewyk is a co-founder of the National Farmer Mental Health Alliance and a PhD Student at the University of Guelph in Rural Studies. With a drive to support agricultural workers and promote resiliency, her organization has launched an application with the support of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, advancing innovation into farmer mental health and wellness.

Anyone in the community is welcome to attend. To attend this event and future presentations, please register on the Gateway CERH website here.

For more information, contact: Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health at info@gatewayruralhealth.ca  or 519-612-1053.

About Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health 

Founded in 2008, Gateway CERH is a not-for-profit rural health research organization run by a community-based volunteer board of directors. Gateway CERH's main mission is to better the health and quality of life of rural residents through research, education, and communication. Learn more on the Gateway CERH website here.