Abstract
Health care students are not immune to mental health challenges. An existing mental health crisis and a current climate of uncertainty and unrest call academic institutions to be proactive in providing services and environments that support student mental health and wellness. This mixed-methods study captured perceptions of more than 100 health care students from seven different professions including OT. Results can be used to inform campuswide interventions and enhancements.
Primary Author and Speaker: Carol Lambdin-Pattavina
Additional Authors and Speakers: Meghan Bowler, Maighan Leblanc, and Jana Montgomery
Covid-19 has brought health disparities front and center. An existing mental health crisis (MHA, 2018) has been magnified due to the pandemic and healthcare workers are among those directly affected. Healthcare workers are susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue which put them at greater risk for substance use, PTSD, lower QoL, and suicide (Okoli et al., 2019; Kelly, 2020). While steps must be in place to mitigate on-the-job risks, it is imperative that academic institutions address the mental health and wellness of healthcare students prior to entering the workforce. Graduate students are 6 times more likely to experience depression and anxiety than the general population and less than half indicate that they have an adequate ‘work-life’ balance (Evans et al., 2018). Greater onus must be placed on academic institutions to promote self-care to support healthcare students in developing mental health habits and routines that can sustain them long-term. This study surveyed seven healthcare academic programs including occupational therapy to determine perceptions of and satisfaction with the campus environment including services to support mental health and wellness. This mixed methods study took place at a university in the NE following IRB approval. An online survey was developed to collect data regarding students' perceptions of the physical campus environment and services to support student mental health and wellness. Participants were recruited through university email. Inclusion criteria follow: able to read English, 18 years and older, and physically on campus a minimum of 20% of the time spent in academic tasks. Quantitative data were analyzed using one-way ANOVAs and Tukey's post hoc tests to determine differences between programs. Of particular interest and statistical significance were differences found between programs related to perceptions of stigma related to talking about mental health challenges (.009, p < .05). Most healthcare programs perceived at least some stigma, but programs such as dental medicine and pharmacy were more likely to perceive a great deal of stigma versus other programs. A question related to perceived stigma around getting help for a mental health challenge approached statistical significance (.06, p < .05). Qualitative data from open responses were thematically analyzed. Themes related to place and space and walk the talk emerged. Space and place reflected a desire to create homelike spaces that would provide downtime for students particularly those who have large gaps in schedules. Students also wanted more positive campus-wide messaging and indoor green spaces. Walk the talk reflected faculty comments who discussed the mental health needs of future clients but did not honor the mental health needs of students or, in some cases, ignored the explicit call from students to address student mental health issues. While some aspects of the campus environment were perceived as supportive, there is still much work to be done in the following areas: creation of physical spaces that promote mental health and wellness, positive mental health messaging, a culture that embraces open dialogue about mental health, and faculty who are vested in their students' mental health and wellness. In addition to other courageous conversations that are happening globally, academic institutions must be willing to have similar conversations regarding mental health so as to not further marginalize, stigmatize and oppress generations of healthcare workers to come. With its emphasis on holism and the person-environment-occupation fit to support engagement, occupational therapy is well suited to address the needs of the academic community via promotion and prevention initiatives informed by this study.
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Kelly, L. (2020). Burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma in nurses. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 43(1), 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNQ.0000000000000293.
MHA. (2018). The state of mental health in America. Retrieved from https://mhanational.org/sites/default/files/2019%20MH%20in%20America%20Final_0.pdf
Okoli, C. T. C., Seng, S., Otachi, J. K., Higgins, J. T., Lawrence, J., Lykins, A., & Bryant, E. (2020). A cross-sectional examination of factors associated with compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue across healthcare workers in an academic medical centre. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(3), 476-487. https://doi.org/10