Mental health literacy encompasses an individual’s knowledge and attitudes which influence recognition, treatment and management of a mental health problem. Depression is a common mental health problem experienced by university students, but they often do not seek professional help for their mental health, and prefer more informal sources of help. Online interventions to improve students’ mental health literacy could be a useful and engaging mental health promotion strategy in this population, in order to help improve their recognition and appraisal of depression, their ability to respond to it appropriately (either through seeking professional help or applying self-help), and improve their ability to support others experiencing depression. This thesis describes four studies conducted to inform the development of an online mental health literacy intervention tailored for Nottingham-based university students. These studies describe: 1) a systematic review and meta-analysis of website-based interventions for common mental health problems in university students; 2) a survey-based study investigating the profile of depressive, anxiety and hypomanic/manic symptomology in local students; 3) an interview-based study with students about their mental health and well-being since entering university, and their perspectives about help-seeking and self-management; and 4) an exploratory study investigating students’ mental health first aid skills for a hypothetical friend experiencing depression. This, coupled with literature review of student mental health, mental health help-seeking, and mental health literacy, resulted in the development of the pilot online intervention (“Managing Your Mood Online”), which underwent usability testing with a sample of representative end users. This study found the pilot intervention to be acceptable and usable, but with many potential areas for improvement. This thesis concludes with several considerations for future development of the online intervention.
This article presents the findings of empirical research on the experiences of senior National Health Service communication practitioners in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, viewed through the prism of their emotional responses. Using narrative interviews with 15 senior communicators, the study discovered that contextual factors elicited the strongest emotional reactions, rather than dealing with the health crisis itself. Five common contextual factors were identified: 'command and control', working from home, social media, technology, and professional recognition. Linked to these factors were a range of emotions which can be clustered into eight main categories: stress and anxiety, guilt, frustration and anger, inadequacy, isolation, pride, excitement and a growing sense of confidence. The findings lead to a conclusion that internal contextual factors rather than the challenges posed by the progress of the disease itself determined the most significant elements of the experience of these practitioners. The study also identified the sources of personal support for communicators and their own recommendations for policy changes. The study concludes that health communicators were hindered by the environment in which they undertook their duties. Necessary policy changes will assist in ensuring this professional group can perform more optimally during major health crises in the future.
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