Navigating the Paradox: Challenges and Strategies of University Students Managing Mental Health Medication in Real-World Practices (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Mental health has become a growing concern among university students. According to the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) National Report 2022-2023, 46% of students have been diagnosed with a mental disorder by a health professional, reflecting a nearly 50% increase from 2013 to 2021. While researchers have developed various technologies to help this issue, one significant aspect of the mental health management journey is often understudied -- the role of mental health medication. Understanding how university students manage their medication for mental health symptoms in real-world practice has not been fully explored. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to examine university students’ experiences in taking and managing their mental health medications. We want to understand the unique challenges in the mental health medication management process and their coping strategies, particularly examining the role of various technologies in this process. METHODS We conducted semi-structured interviews with participants who are self-identified as currently taking medication for mental health diagnosis and are students at a university. Two researchers open-coded the interview transcripts and notes, and conducted a thematic analysis to identify three primary themes we detail in the findings section. RESULTS We discovered that due to struggles with self-acceptance and the interdependent relationship between medication, symptoms, schedules, and life changes, the medication management process for students was a highly dynamic journey involving frequent dosage changes. Thus, students adopted flexible strategies of using minimal technology to manage their medication in different situations while maintaining a high degree of autonomy. Based on our findings, we propose design implications for future technologies to seamlessly integrate into their daily lives and assist students in managing their mental health medications. CONCLUSIONS In the paper, we conducted semi-structured interviews with university students currently under- going medication for mental health issues. The interviews aimed to uncover the challenges they encountered in their university lives, along with the coping strategies and technologies employed to navigate these challenges. We found that students often rely on creative ways to use fixed alarms on their phones, however, encounter numerous difficulties due to factors such as the flexibility of daily routines. Based on these findings, we proposed six design implications for how advanced technology could better assist university students in managing their mental health medications.