Joseph Shiju, Menon Maya, Jose Sheril Elizabeth, Titus Usha
Dept. of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Dept. of Psychology, Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2023 Sep;45(5):526-532. doi: 10.1177/02537176221122407. Epub 2022 Oct 2.
Mental health issues are common among college students, and structured services have been proven to enhance outcomes. Despite increased enrolment for higher education in India, college mental health services remain sparse. JEEVANI is the first structured state-wide college mental health service in India. This paper describes its framework and provides an overview of its functioning during the initial five months.
In 2019-2020, the Directorate of Collegiate Education, Government of Kerala, implemented the program in 66 colleges catering to approximately 60,000 students. Qualified counsellors were trained to identify issues and provide interventions and early referrals, using a stepped-care approach. They conducted awareness programs to promote mental health and reduce stigma.
The services were accessed by 2,315 students during the assessment period (October 2019 to February 2020). The beneficiaries were predominantly females (54.1%). Over a third (38.8%) belonged to the lower socio-economic strata, and 2.5% had significant vulnerabilities. Although no syndromal diagnoses were made, anxiety and depression were the most common presentations. The counsellors provided 3,758 individual sessions and facilitated support for students who reported academic difficulties or interpersonal issues. Severe mental illness was detected in 54 students, and referrals for specialist mental health input were initiated in 68.
Describing the framework, sharing the technical material, and providing an overview of its functioning from a resource-constrained setting in India may encourage higher education institutions in low- and middle-income countries to consider similar projects.
心理健康问题在大学生中很常见，结构化服务已被证明能改善结果。尽管印度高等教育的入学人数有所增加，但大学心理健康服务仍然稀少。JEEVANI是印度首个全州范围的结构化大学心理健康服务项目。本文描述了其框架，并概述了其在最初五个月的运作情况。
2019 - 2020年，喀拉拉邦政府的大学教育管理局在66所学院实施了该项目，服务对象约为6万名学生。合格的咨询师接受了培训，采用分级护理方法识别问题、提供干预措施和早期转诊。他们开展了提高认识的项目，以促进心理健康并减少污名化。
在评估期间（2019年10月至2020年2月），有2315名学生使用了这些服务。受益者主要为女性（54.1%）。超过三分之一（38.8%）属于社会经济地位较低的阶层，2.5%有严重的脆弱性。尽管未做出综合征诊断，但焦虑和抑郁是最常见的表现。咨询师提供了3758次个体咨询，并为报告有学业困难或人际关系问题的学生提供了支持。在54名学生中检测出严重精神疾病，68名学生被转介接受专业心理健康治疗。
描述该框架、分享技术资料并概述其在印度资源有限环境中的运作情况，可能会鼓励低收入和中等收入国家的高等教育机构考虑开展类似项目。
