Students often have high demands on themselves, both regarding their studies and achievements in life in general. Several studies indicate that students often experience stress, anxiety, depression and feel anxious about not being able to complete their studies. In order to get a clearer picture of how our students are doing and to eventually develop digital forms of support, the University management has decided that Umeå University will participate in a WHO project on students' mental health.
Health survey for students in April
As a first step, we need to know how our students actually are feeling and if their health situation changes during their study period. Therefore, all undergraduate programme students who study semester 1 in the spring of 2021 will receive a link to a health survey sent to them by email on 12 April. The questionnaire contains questions about physical and mental health. Right now, there is also a special section that contains questions about how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected their health and studies.
Preliminarily on March 22, the same students will receive an email with initial information about the project and the health survey.
How you as an employee can contribute
When students experience mental health problems, it can also affect their study situation. You who meet students in everyday life can be directly affected in various ways that you may not always feel equipped to handle. The students who choose to participate in the survey will receive information on how they can receive support from professionals and get tools for managing their mood. We would like to ask you who meet the spring 2021 first-semester undergraduate programme students, to provide them with information in advance by posting the following information on relevant learning platforms:
How are you feeling, as a student?
On April 12, you will receive an email from the sender "Swedish WHO-WMH-ICS survey" with a link to a health survey. Regardless of how you feel when you receive the survey, your answers are very valuable to us so that we will be able to develop helpful forms of support for our students. In mid-March, you will receive an email with more information. You can also read more here.
The information can be posted on the learning platforms as soon as possible, and be removed after 12 April.
About the project
The survey is part of the global research project "World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health International College Student Initiative (WMH-ICS)". The long-term project goal is to prevent mental illness in students by systematically following up on how students are doing, and developing and offering quality-assured initiatives for students who need support. Universities in about 20 countries are already participating, and from the spring of 2021, Umeå University will also participate. At Umeå University, it is the Student Services Office/Student Health Service that coordinates the project. The University management and the student unions are participating actors.
Continuation of the project
The survey group will be gradually expanded so that all first-semester programme students in the autumn of 2021 will be invited to participate in the study, and so on every semester until 2024. These students will receive an annual follow-up questionnaire.
Want to know more or have questions?
Read more about the project.
If you have further questions, you are welcome to contact Ann-Kristin Sandström, Student Services Office/Student Health Service.