Continuing to Promote Mental Health Awareness on Campus: A Student-Led Interprofessional Learning Project to Benefit the UBC Community

Michael Lee, Senior Instructor, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, College of Health Disciplines
Tal Jarus, Associate Professor, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, College of Health Disciplines
Christie Newton, Assistant Professor, Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine
Marlee Groening, Lecturer, School of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Lynda Eccott, Senior Instructor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Sean Lloyd, Co-chair, Mental Health Working Group (Student Collaborator)

Mental illness is one of the most significant illnesses experienced by young people, with approximately 50% of UBC students indicating that it has negatively impacted their learning within the past academic year. Unfortunately, many undergraduate students are not fully aware of mental health (MH) issues. As such, this project aims to increase MH awareness on campus through an innovative, interprofessional, student-led working group. Tasked to create a series of MH promotion events on campus, the group will be mentored by an advisory circle comprised of community partners and departmental faculty. As an extension of classroom learning to a real-world context, the working group will also engage in peer-to-peer teaching and learning through the recruitment of future members, and the development of a series of comprehensive training workshops. Participating students will learn from experienced service providers, becoming 'experts’ and disseminating knowledge to other students, thus creating a sustained cycle of teaching and learning.

Michael Lee, Senior Instructor / Curriculum Coordinator, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, College of Health Disciplines
Tal Jarus, Co-Investigator / Associate Professor, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, College of Health Disciplines
Christie Newton, Co-Investigator / Assistant Professor, Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine
Marlee Groening, Co-Investigator / Lecturer, School of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Lynda Eccott, Co-Investigator / Senior Instructor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Thao Dao, Co-Chair, Mental Health Awareness Club (Student Collaborator)
Vivian Wong, Co-Chair, Mental Health Awareness Club
Karen Chu, Co-Chair, Mental Health Awareness Club
Laura Friesen, Co-Chair, Mental Health Awareness Club
Erin Brown, Co-Chair, Mental Health Awareness Club
Sneha Shankar, Occupational Therapy Clinician

Last year, we created an innovative, interprofessional, student-led working group whose mandate was to promote mental health (MH) awareness on campus. Mentored by an advisory circle comprised of community partners and departmental faculty from Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Family Practice and Pharmacy, the Mental Health Awareness Club (MHAC) is a forum for students interested in health promotion, where they can engage in peer-to peer mentorship and teaching, attend in-session workshops on student development, and apply the health promotion principles they have learned through the planning and implementation of program events.

This year, the group seeks further funding to continue the amazing work they have already carried out, and to build on the group infrastructure established thus far. The upcoming year will place a renewed emphasis on growing student capacity, recognizing that members are eager to learn about mental health awareness and promotion beyond a traditional classroom setting, and where they can plan and deliver educational information in an interprofessional, student-led environment.