Date Presented 04/03/2025
The results of this study suggest that faculty mental health training in health professions programs may improve faculty confidence in developing supportive, inclusive academic environments that promote a culture of mental well-being.
Primary Author and Speaker: Christina Finn
Additional Authors and Speakers: Pamela Karp
PURPOSE: Mental health issues have become an increasing concern among college students over the last decade, (Oswalt et. al, 2015) with a high prevalence of reported mental health disorders including depression, eating disorders, sleep disorders, and PTSD among undergraduate students (Kang, 2021). Occupational therapy students in particular, also have reported increasing levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (Sharma & Tyszka, 2023). Students who experience mental health issues may have more difficulty in the collegiate academic environment, including decreased academic performance, difficulty initiating and sustaining peer relationships, effectively managing time, and difficulty fulfilling course requirements (Jehi et al., 2023). The objectives of this study were to: 1) examine the impact of a training program on faculty attitudes regarding health professions’ students’ mental health and academic performance 2) examine the impact of a training program on faculty’s perceived confidence in their ability to recognize and provide support for students with mental health issues.
DESIGN: This research study consisted of a pre-training survey, an asynchronous faculty training session, and a post-training survey. A mixed method, convergent parallel design approach was utilized to collect quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously from the pre and post-training surveys.
RESULTS: The following themes were extracted from open-ended questions: enhanced perceived role of faculty, improved preparedness and confidence, resource utilization and communication, and recognition of ongoing training needs. Frequency data for pre and post training survey responses further corroborated the thematic analysis.
CONCLUSION: Formal faculty training has the potential to improve faculty confidence in their ability to recognize mental health concerns in occupational therapy and students and improve faculty awareness of strategies to support mental health in the classroom.
References
Jehi, T., Mulvey, M., Shulgan, E., Burke, E., Dean, M., Betancourt, J., ... & Zeman, C. (2024). Anxiety, depression, stress, and test anxiety are inversely associated with academic performance among undergraduate students post-COVID-19 confinement. American Journal of Health Education, 1–11.
Kang, H. K., Rhodes, C., Rivers, E., Thornton, C. P., & Rodney, T. (2021). Prevalence of mental health disorders among undergraduate university students in the United States: A review. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 59(2), 17–24.
Oswalt, S. B., Lederer, A. M., Chestnut-Steich, K., Day, C., Halbritter, A., & Ortiz, D. (2020). Trends in college students’ mental health diagnoses and utilization of services, 2009–2015. Journal of American college health, 68(1),41–51.
Sharma, A., & Tyszka, A. (2023). Understanding the mental health of occupational therapy students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 7(1), 3.
