Developing CARE-NAV: Compassionate AI-supported REsource NAVigation: A nested qualitative and implementation study

After a mental health crisis, people discharged from the Emergency Department often face unclear next steps and fragmented access to community care. Benjamin’s project asks how compassion is shaped when post-discharge care combines structured clinician follow-up with AI-supported resource navigation. Working with patient partners, he will codesign a framework defining what compassionate care looks like in post-crisis transitions. He will then use this framework to evaluate patients’ and clinicians’ experiences across standard care and AI-enhanced follow-up, generating practical guidance for deploying AI tools in mental health care in ways that protect compassion.