Abstract
Background: An increase in the prevalence of mental illness among Indian university students has led to educational policies that make mental health education and services compulsory in educational settings. However, students’ perceptions of the effectiveness and role of these resources in meeting their mental health needs have not been sufficiently explored. The study used a qualitative exploratory design to understand participants’ perceptions of services and mental health education offered by their institutions. Methods: Data was collected from 16 South Indian university students using semi-structured interviews. It was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Findings suggested that mental health education improved mental health literacy and personal attitudes towards help-seeking, mental health, and mental illness. However, mental health service utilization within the universities was more greatly influenced by prior experiences with these services, social mental health attitudes, and service protocols. Additionally, participants discussed academic and social experiences outside of structured institutional mental health initiatives as influencing their attitudes and literacy. These included exposure to diverse social groups, embedded and informal learning contexts, library and online resources, and informal help sources such as peers and faculty mentors. Conclusions: Based on participants’ perceptions and experiences, the findings suggest that higher education institutions (HEIs) play a significant role in promoting mental health and addressing mental illness both through structured and informal means. It also suggests that exploring the social contexts within which educational institutions formulate and provide mental health education and services is important in ensuring their effectiveness.
Keywords
Student mental health; mental health promotion; mental health literacy; mental health services
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