Challenge

How might we create opportunities to decrease the sense of loneliness and isolation for college students?

Background

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the mental health crisis on college campuses. The shift to remote learning has led to long hours online and little to no human-to-human interaction. Nationwide, students have reported increased rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and difficulty sleeping. Colleges and universities are overwhelmed with the increased demand for mental health services, leaving many students behind.

“Nobody wants to be responsible for mental health because of its high stakes and we don’t identify it soon enough”

— UT professor

“The counseling center was my lifeline when I was at the darkest point of my depression. I was lucky enough to have known about these resources, but students don’t”

— UT student

Process

We used both qualitative and quantitative data to gain further insight into mental health on college campuses. We began with a literature review that informed our stakeholder analysis to identify influential individuals and organizations on a local and nationwide scale. We sent a twenty five question survey to students across the nation at seven different universities.

We conducted in-depth interviews with college students, UT college professors, UT staff, psychologists, and subject matter experts. We used journey mapping to outline UT students’ common experience with the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center.

All information was placed onto a data wall and sorted into themes and patterns. We used affinity mapping to make further interpretations which led us to three critical insights.

Insight #1: There has been an overall decline of mental health among college students.

Heightened uncertainty surrounding the future and the health of loved ones has created tremendous stress for students. Students are placed in unfamiliar circumstances and have placed additional pressure on themselves to perform. Many students have reported significant increases in their anxiety and depression levels since the onset of the pandemic.

Insight #2: Students lack meaningful relationships where they are able to be emotionally vulnerable.

Social stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health prevents many individuals from talking to others and reaching out about their mental health. Students fear that their friends and family will judge them, treat them differently, or minimize their struggles. Friends and family members have the potential to provide emotional support and encouragement to seek professional help.

Insight #3: There is a lack of visibility of mental health resources available to college students.

Students often do not get the mental health help they need because they do not know how or where to seek help. There is a need for improved transparency and education of mental health resources available to students.

Solution

How might we create a space for individuals to share their feelings without fear of judgement, to alleviate feelings of anxiousness and distress?

Our objective was to spark conversations about mental health and remove misconceptions about seeking help. We created a website where individuals could learn about resources available, schedule appointments with the counseling center, and respond to prompts such as “How are you feeling today?”

Individuals would be able to visit “The Wall”, a digital art installation where people can walk through and read the responses submitted online. By reading other students’ responses, we hoped to evoke empathy and create a sense of unity with their fellow classmates and to validate their emotions. A QR code would be present at the installation that would lead visitors to the website where they could respond to the prompt themselves or explore resources.

“The Wall” would be located in front of the UT tower, a highly trafficked area for students on their way to class or to other activities. “The Wall” strives to be a safe place where students feel comfortable to share and openly express themselves, while also learning about the mental health resources available.

Feedback

We received mainly positive feedback from students, as they felt it was an opportunity to relive a sense of burden. Students believed anonymity is crucial to encourage participation and freely express themselves. We found students did not want to be able to interact with the responses as they believed it would evolve into a competition for the most likes or comments. On the other hand, students expressed the potential for cyberbullying and liability concerns if an individual expresses suicidal ideations. This prompted us to moderate all responses and include a disclaimer that this is not a substitute for therapy and if anyone is experiencing suicidal ideations to call the crisis hotline immediately.

Limitations and Next Steps

We were unable to test a physical prototype due to the limited sample size. The proposed implementation date overlapped with the University of Texas’s Thanksgiving break. Students were encouraged to travel home for Thanksgiving and remain home until the next semester due to coronavirus precautions.

The next step would be to test a physical prototype on the University of Texas campus once the spring semester resumes. We will continue to monitor and adjust to changing CDC coronavirus guidelines. Meanwhile, we intend to advertise the “the Wall” website via social media platforms. Students will be able to respond to the prompt, review responses, and explore resources virtually until we are able to test a physical prototype.