The development and evaluation of an online intervention, ‘MePlusMe’, supporting mood, wellbeing, study skills, and everyday functioning in students in higher education

• Published in: Frontiers in public health 2016, Vol.4
• Main Authors: Patapia, Tzotzoli, Marietta, Papadatou-Pastou, Rhianna, Goozée, Ruth, Ohlsen, Elizabeth, Barley, Mark, Haddad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic self-efficacy; Anxiety; Depression; higher education; Mental Health; mood; online intervention; Study Skills; wellbeing
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.01.00027

Background Higher education institutions (HEIs) have an obligation to provide support for the mental health and wellbeing of their enrolled students. There is growing concern about the mental health and wellbeing of higher education (HE) students, not least because of associations with academic performance. The proportion of UK HE students failing to complete their studies has risen to more than 16%. Demand for student support services (SSS) is increasing, which is likely to result in increased waiting times. This may increase the likelihood of problems escalating and negative consequences for both the individual and HEIs. HEIs are facing major cuts to their budgets, with cuts of up to 40% over four years announced in the last UK Governmental Spending Review. Recent fee increases add further pressure on UK HEIs to be cost-effective, show quality and value for money, and enhance ‘student experience’ - important influences on the ratings, intake, and income of HEIs. This further challenges the ability of UK HEIs to offer effective SSS. There is a need of HEIs SSS to employ alternative means of supporting students. Aims We aimed to develop and evaluate an online multimedia intervention to meet current demand for a system addressing mild to moderate psychological and/or study skill difficulties of HE students. Methods & Results The development of our system followed the Medical Research Council (MRC) guidelines for developing complex interventions. To date, we have conducted two stages of development: a) HEI student survey We administered an online survey to university students at King’s College London between February and April 2012, comprising seven questions regarding difficulties faced by students at university, their views (acceptability and engagement) about online support systems, and what features make such systems useful to them. Data from open-ended and closed questions were explored using descriptive statistics. Respondents (n=61) identified difficulties they faced, which were grouped into three broad categories: time management/work load, social life, and finances. The majority of respondents stated that they would use an online support system if they faced difficulties at university (75.4%), although most of them (95.1%) had never heard of or accessed any online support systems. Respondents expressed a preference for the system to contain a tool to assess which techniques are relevant to the user and direct them to those resources (75.4%), the abi