Health Higher Education Research Articles

Collaboration, confidentiality, and care.

There is an increasing call to attend to the needs of students in distress (Reynolds, 2013). Furthermore, research has begun to highlight links between distress, risky, or dangerous behaviors as well as issues in mental health in the higher education population (Deasy, Coughlan, Pironom, Jourdan, & Mannix-McNamara, 2014). The National Alliance on Mental Health and the Jed Foundation (National Alliance on Mental Illness & the Jed Foundation, 2016) estimate that about 20% of enrolled college students will face some type of mental illness. As such, the work of mental health professionals, which has been increasing with time, will continue to play a pivotal role on today's campus (Kitzrow, 2009). Yet mental health in higher education is too pervasive and significant of a topic for counseling and psychological centers to handle by themselves (Joint Task Force in Student Learning, 1998; Mitchell et al., 2012). Therefore, a collaborative approach is warranted as higher education professionals strive to meet the increasing mental health demands of the student population. Case studies amalgamated from housing and residence life professionals are used to gain a greater understanding of how interdepartmental work is carried out without compromising or breaching ethical or legal regulations as set by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and/or organizational standards like that of the International Association of Counseling Services Inc. (International Association for Counseling Services Inc., 2014) Specifically, the cases demonstrate ways inter- and intradepartmental staffers can work as a team, safeguard private and confidential information, and concurrently create an environment in which care is nurtured. (PsycINFO Database Record

Imbalance: Mental Health in Higher Education

Imbalance: Mental Health in Higher Education

Acknowledge the Barriers to Better the Practices: Support for Student Mental Health in Higher Education

Despite marked improvements, intervention for students with a mental health problem or illness in Canadian higher education settings remains not yet successful, mature, or sustainable. A number of challenges have been identified as contributory to the shortcomings surrounding student mental health in colleges and universities. In this paper, I explore some of the more common barriers that currently limit the development, implementation, and sustainability of student mental health support practices. The barriers of focus include, prevailing stigma and stereotypes, underdeveloped policies, and minimal opportunities for professional development and training. I specifically highlight how these barriers frame the challenges for teaching faculty and academic staff in promoting or supporting student mental health and well-being. Following an identification and discussion of barriers, I offer suggestions on how they can be overcome, or at the very least minimized, and what this would mean for teaching and learning in relation to post-secondary student mental health. For example, in an attempt to clarify current policies surrounding mental health, I suggest and explore how institutions can assign particular individuals (i.e., a designated “task force”) as responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of mental health policies. Ultimately, the first step to better mental health support practices is to acknowledge how they are challenged. Malgré de nettes améliorations, l’intervention pour les étudiants qui souffrent de problèmes de santé mentale ou de maladie mentale dans les établissements d’enseignement supérieur canadiens continue à ne pas être efficace, mature ou durable. Un certain nombre de défis ont été identifiés comme facteurs qui contribuent aux faiblesses en ce qui concerne la santé mentale des étudiants dans les collèges et les universités. Dans cet article, j’explore certains des obstacles les plus communs qui limitent à l’heure actuelle le développement, la mise en oeuvre et la durabilité des pratiques de soutien de la santé mentale des étudiants. Les obstacles comprennent les attitudes de stigmatisation et les stéréotypes, les politiques trop faibles et les opportunités minimes de développement professionnel et de formation. Je souligne en particulier comment ces obstacles encadrent les enjeux auxquels font face les enseignants et le personnel académique pour promouvoir ou soutenir la santé mentale et le bien-être des étudiants. Après avoir identifié et examiné les obstacles, je propose des suggestions sur la manière dont ils peuvent être surmontés ou, tout au moins, minimisés, et ce que cela pourrait signifier pour l’enseignement et l’apprentissage en relation avec la santé mentale des étudiants en milieu post-secondaire. Par exemple, afin de clarifier les politiques actuelles concernant la santé mentale, je suggère et j’explore comment les établissements peuvent désigner des personnes spécifiques (par ex. un « groupe de travail » désigné) comme responsables du développement, de la mise en oeuvre et de l’évaluation des politiques sur la santé mentale. En définitive, la première étape pour en arriver à de meilleures pratiques de soutien de la santé mentale est de reconnaître la manière dont elles sont mises au défi.

Issues and Trends in Higher Education Health

ABSTRACTPublic speculation about bioterrorism and the increasing obesity epidemic are examples of current public health issues that continue to be illuminated in the spotlight. Major public health threats continue to drive the health job market and impact higher education health curricula (e.g., public health, health promotion, community health). Also, higher education institutions are dealing with more campus health-related challenges than ever before, thus driving a major focus on lowering risk with initiatives such as combating increasing mental health issues, drug abuse, sexual assault, and possible active shooter situations, among others. The current landscape of higher education academic health programs is changing due to a scarcity of funding and national focus on possible threats. Trends in degree offerings, effects of technological changes, possible solutions to current higher education health challenges, and a future forecast of higher education health are discussed.

Becoming an educational leader – exploring leadership in medical education

Research on educational leadership emphasizes the importance of having institutional leaders heavily involved with advanced instructional programming. Best practices for developing educational leadership in higher education health care and medical faculties have to be better understood. Within the framework of a seminar series, researchers and practitioners were involved in a dialogical process of inquiry, coupled with an explicit activity-oriented approach emphasizing empowerment among educational leaders. In a reflective paper, 10 participants of the seminar series elaborated on what it meant to develop and to ‘take’ leadership in your professional role and which factors that were identified as adding value to the development of professional leadership expertise. Qualitative content analysis was conducted resulting in thirteen categories reported in relation to Wenger’s theory of communities of practice. The findings show that educational leadership involves processes on the levels of students, teachers as community and at the organizational level. The individuals created a place for backstage conversations at which they got opportunity to develop their thinking and inspiration to break new ideas into their own educational communities. In addition, a systemic approach is essential for the effective implementation of educational leadership to reach all levels via interaction and communication across an organization.

A multi-disciplinary collaborative project developing public health higher education in four higher education institutes in Africa and Europe

ABSTRACTThe HEI-ICI project involves cooperation between the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and three African partners. The main aim of the project, now in its fourth year, has been to develop education in health sciences and to improve the quality of teaching. The target has been to develop the skills of selected junior faculty from the Public Health departments, library and IT centres at partner universities. The data was collected during the project in 2010–2014. Written and visual material was analysed using deductive content analysis. The main obstacles researchers were faced with while working in the project have been cultural: the project encouraged different cultures – not only European and African but also pan-African – to meet and work together. This novel approach to learning and teaching is based on the concept of cooperation, collaboration and trust between all of the participating partners; its foundation is the full ownership by the less developed Southern partner institutions.

INSTRUMENTO DE AVALIAÇÃO DO PENSAMENTO CRÍTICO EM ESTUDANTES E PROFISSIONAIS DE SAÚDE

Critical thinking is a key domain in any area of human activity, essential in problem solving and decision making processes. Critical thinking, as a skill or set of skills, plays a key role in the health area, contributing to the effectiveness of clinical reasoning. Literature suggests the need to invest in strategies towards the development and assessment of critical thinking in health, both in academic and professional fields. The present study aims to describe the development of an instrument to assess critical thinking skills in students and health professionals. A convenience, not random sample was studied, consisting of 219 individuals, 117 of which are students on higher education health courses, and 102 are healthcare professionals, and the psychometric qualities of the instrument were analyzed. The instrument created revealed to have good psychometric qualities regarding reliability and sensitivity, and reasonable validity. It is intended that this instrument contributes to the development of strategies to improve and assess critical thinking skills, either in academic or in professional contexts.

Quality assurance in transnational higher education: a case study of the tropEd network

IntroductionTransnational or cross-border higher education has rapidly expanded since the 1980s. Together with that expansion issues on quality assurance came to the forefront. This article aims to identify key issues regarding quality assurance of transnational higher education and discusses the quality assurance of the tropEd Network for International Health in Higher Education in relation to these key issues.MethodsLiterature review and review of documents.ResultsFrom the literature the following key issues regarding transnational quality assurance were identified and explored: comparability of quality assurance frameworks, true collaboration versus erosion of national education sovereignty, accreditation agencies and transparency. The tropEd network developed a transnational quality assurance framework for the network. The network accredits modules through a rigorous process which has been accepted by major stakeholders. This process was a participatory learning process and at the same time the process worked positive for the relations between the institutions.DiscussionThe development of the quality assurance framework and the process provides a potential example for others.

Understanding sensemaking/sensegiving in transformational change processes from the bottom up

Government agencies, foundations, business and industry, and other important higher education stakeholders continue to invest in important and deep changes they think are necessary for the vitality and health of higher education particularly interdisciplinary teaching and research. But we know little about how transformational changes happen, particularly bottom up approaches required for altering the teaching/learning environment. This article reports on one of the few studies of transformational change describing case study research of 28 institutions attempting to fundamentally shift toward interdisciplinary work. The results identify the key role of sensemaking and sensegiving and build on earlier research showing how these processes change from mobilization to the implementation of change.

Positive Engagement with Communities through Taiji: Case Study of a One Day Experiential Workshop

Whilst the physical health benefits of taiji have been reported, there is limited information on the influences of taiji on mental health. This paper reports on a collaborative one day experiential workshop between a university, a local martial arts academy and Mental Health in Higher Education (MHHE). The purpose of the day was to explore the impact of taiji on people’s mental health and well-being. The workshop used a multi method approach to explore the potential benefits of taiji. Participants, who were service users and various professionals, were introduced to the philosophies behind taiji and gained an understanding of the concept of qi. This was followed by participants being guided through a practical taiji session to demonstrate how qi can be activated. The remainder of the day was used to deconstruct poetry and narratives to trigger discussions on the range of benefits of taiji. Those participating acknowledged the social benefits of belonging to a community of taiji practitioners. Two pragmatic issues were also highlighted: cultural background being an important influence regarding the understanding and practice of taiji; and that difficulties in gaining access to reputable and qualified teachers can act as a barrier to integrating taiji within educational programmes.

The carer’s world: An interactive reusable learning object

Visual and interactive environments offer unique opportunities for emotive and immersive experiences related to health. Examples concerning Alzheimer’s include the film Ex memoria, documentaries like Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s farewell and the Remember us virtual exhibit within Second life. In 2006, the School of Health and Social Care (HSC) began experimenting with integrating the methods and themes of Lifeworld with Hypertext narrative into an educational resource. This process led to the development of a reusable learning object — The carer’s world — designed to give users greater knowledge about, and insight into, the challenges of caring for people with Alzheimer’s. This article describes the context, processes and influences of its creation and a discussion of how this type of development might increase knowledge and understanding around the issues of a carer’s world and also provide a tool for embedding into the higher educational health curriculum.

Stigma and student mental health in higher education

Stigma is a powerful force in preventing university students with mental health difficulties from gaining access to appropriate support. This paper reports on an exploratory study of university students with mental health difficulties that found most students did not disclose their mental health problems to staff at university. This was primarily due to fear of discrimination during their studies and in professional employment. Many students went to considerable efforts to hide their mental health condition and in doing so struggled to meet university requirements. Of the minority who did disclose, most received helpful assistance with both their studies and management of their mental health condition. The university was the main source of support services including counselling, disability, student union and housing. A range of measures are required to address the impact of stigma and mental health to empower students so that they can disclose in the confidence that they will be treated fairly.

Mental health issues and higher education psychology teaching

This paper focuses on widening participation and accessibility in relation to mental health issues and undergraduate psychology students. Sections 1 and 2 set the context and outline the scope and aims of this paper. Section 3 presents evidence of the student experience from the Improving Provisions for Disabled Psychology Students (IPDPS) project. Students in this project all had some form of disability as defined by the DDA (2005). Section 4 provides examples of ways in which learning and teaching about mental health can be designed from an inclusive and accessible perspective. These examples are drawn from work done by the Mental Health in Higher Education (mhhe) project in conjunction with the Psychology Network. Finally, Section 5 notes that research into other minority groups studying psychology reflects very similar findings to those reported about mental health and psychology teaching and learning, and also highlights the need for further research into these areas.

Building a community of practice - the 'Mental Health in Higher Education' website

Mental Health in Higher Education, a project of the Higher Education Academy, aims to enhance learning and teaching about mental health in UK higher education. This article introduces the Mental Health in Higher Education website which has recently been relaunched. It outlines its key role in the development of our emerging community of practice.

Co-Editors' Letter for the NASPA Special Issue: Health in Higher Education

(2006). Co-Editors' Letter for the NASPA Special Issue: Health in Higher Education. NASPA Journal: Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 377-379.

Service User/Survivor Involvement in Mental Health Training and Education: Overcoming the Barriers

This article discusses 10 barriers to the involvement of service users/survivors in learning and teaching about mental health in higher education, suggesting ways of overcoming each. The paper is addressed to mental health trainers and educators, some of whom will be mental health service users/survivors. We have not looked at the involvement of carers/relatives in learning and teaching here. They also clearly have an important role to play and some of what we have written will have relevance to their involvement.

Co-Editors' Letter for the NASPA Special Issue: Health in Higher Education

Co-Editors' Letter for the NASPA Special Issue: Health in Higher Education

Desenvolvimento docente na área da saúde: uma análise

O desenvolvimento docente é uma temática importante em um momento em que a graduação de todos os cursos superiores em saúde passa por transformações curriculares e metodológicas. Neste artigo, analisam-se concepções, propostas e características deste processo. A partir de um diálogo crítico com a literatura, discutem-se a docência universitária em saúde como prática social complexa e interdisciplinar e o desenvolvimento docente em saúde, buscando apreender singularidades, possibilidades e desafios. Neste contexto, a prática do professor é considerada eixo estruturante dos processos formativos.

The future of allied health in higher education: where does it belong?

The future of allied health in higher education: where does it belong?