Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Psychiatric/Mental Health Issues and Initiatives
The Delivery of Mental Health Services on Long Island College Campuses
Lorraine Byrnes Sanders, DNSc, CNM, APRN, Nursing, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
Learning Objective #1: describe current mental health issues on college campuses.
Learning Objective #2: integrate procedures to improve the delivery of mental health services to college students using the college health center
A recent survey (n=19,947) conducted by American College Health Association found that 15.7% of female students and 8.5% of male students had previously been diagnosed with depression and that depression and/or anxiety were impediments to their academic performance. Young adults attending university or college are often away from home for the first time and may experience a lack of social support, which can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Students are also expected, as young adults, to manage health issues that affect them but they may not have the skills to seek care when symptoms arise and/or worsen. Additionally, information about a student's health status when seeking care may not be relayed to family members due to privacy laws about health information even in the event of a mental health crisis. Little data exists to describe the delivery of mental health services on college campuses and how student health information is managed when seeking mental health services or during a mental health crisis. Objectives: to describe the delivery and management of mental health services on Long Island, NY college campuses. Methods: a survey of directors of college health services (n=30) with a response rate of 33% (n=10). Findings: Thirty percent of respondents delivered mental health services on campus. Psychologists and registered nurses were the first line responders providing triage to students with mental health problems. Many (70%) did not offer evaluation and/or treatment on a 24-hour basis. Fifty percent (n=5) did not notify family in the event of a mental health crisis. Conclusion: College health centers are delivering mental health services to a population in need however further research is needed to determine best practices in the delivery of care and how to use the university setting to promote mental health.

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