Enhancing Racial/Ethnic Equity in College Student Mental Health Through Innovative Screening and Treatment

Abstract

Although college campuses are diversifying rapidly, students of color remain an underserved and understudied group. Online screening and subsequent allocation to treatment represents a pathway to enhancing equity in college student mental health. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate racial/ethnic differences in mental health problems and treatment enrollment within the context of a largescale screening and treatment research initiative on a diverse college campus. The sample was comprised of n = 2090 college students who completed an online mental health screening survey and were offered either free online or face-to-face treatment based on symptom severity as a part of a research study. A series of ordinal, binomial and multinomial logistic regression models were specified to examine racial/ethnic differences in mental health problems, prior treatment receipt, and enrollment in online and face-to-face treatment through the campus-wide research initiative. Racial/ethnic differences in depression, anxiety and suicidality endorsed in the screening survey were identified. Students of color were less likely to have received prior mental health treatment compared to non-Hispanic white students, but were equally likely to enroll in and initiate online and face-to-face treatment offered through the current research initiative. Rates of enrollment in online therapy were comparable to prior studies. Online screening and treatment may be an effective avenue to reaching underserved students of color with mental health needs on college campuses. Digital mental health tools hold significant promise for bridging gaps in care, but efforts to improve uptake and engagement are needed.

Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19

“…The academic year of study of the college students has also been shown to impact academic stress levels (Misra and McKean, 2000 ; Elias et al, 2011 ; Wyatt et al, 2017 ; Liu, C. H., et al, 2019 ; Defeyter et al, 2021 ). While several studies indicate that racial/ethnic minority groups of students, including Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American students, are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and suicidality than their white peers (Lesure-Lester and King, 2004 ; Lipson et al, 2018 ; Liu, C. H., et al, 2019 ; Kodish et al, 2022 ), these studies are limited and often report mixed or inconclusive findings (Liu, C. H., et al, 2019 ; Kodish et al, 2022 ). Therefore, more studies should be conducted to address this gap in research to help identify subgroups that may be disproportionately impacted by academic stress and lower well-being.…”

“…For college students, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes and disruptions to daily life, elevated stress levels, and mental and physical health deterioration (American Psychological Association, 2020 ; Husky et al, 2020 ; Patsali et al, 2020 ; Son et al, 2020 ; Clabaugh et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; Lopes and Nihei, 2021 ; Yang et al, 2021 ). While any college student is vulnerable to these stressors, these concerns are amplified for members of minority groups (Salerno et al, 2020 ; Clabaugh et al, 2021 ; McQuaid et al, 2021 ; Prowse et al, 2021 ; Kodish et al, 2022 ). Identifying students at greatest risk provides opportunities to offer support, resources, and mental health services to specific subgroups.…”

Unintentional Discrimination Against Patients with a Migration Background by General Practitioners in Mental Health Management: An Experimental Study

“…In Europe, populations with a migration background are at greater risk of mental health problems than native populations, especially depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety (Ekeberg & Abebe, 2021 ; Mindlis & Boffetta, 2017 ; Missinne & Bracke, 2012 ). Access to appropriate treatment and referral to relevant mental health services have been shown to be limited for migrants (Bhui et al, 2018 ; Giacco et al, 2014 ; Kodish et al, 2022 ).…”

Evaluating the Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of a Digital Psychosocial Self-Screening Tool (HEARTSMAP-U) for Postsecondary Students: Prospective Cohort Study

“…This is especially important given the fact that low perceived need is a common help-seeking barrier [ 5 ]. In addition, universal screening is an approach by which all students may have an equal opportunity for early identification and service acquisition [ 15 ] and may offer an effective strategy for reaching equity-seeking groups (eg, racialized, disabled, gender, and sexual minority groups) [ 8 , 16 - 18 ]. In a campus-wide universal screening campaign open to all students, Kodish et al [ 16 ] observed substantial participation of a racially diverse student population (73.3%).…”