Mental Health

I have long had in interest in healthy workplaces and mental wellness at work.  For postseconday students the workplace is the college or university. There has been a significant increase, Provincially, in concerns about the mental well-being of our post-secondary students; such that the Council of Ontario Universities has created an Office of Innovation in Mental Health. Most Colleges and Universities across the Province are creating strategies to address mental health issues. There has not been a clear strategy addressed at Trent at this point, so in the Fall of 2012 I requested to be a preceptor for 2 NURS 2020 Community Based Nursing Practice, students to assist me in what initially I thought would turn out to be a needs analysis. This work continued in the Winter of 2013 and fortunately I have been blessed with 4 exceptional students. Their work has surpassed a simple needs assessment and they have created a Trent specific “app”, along with corresponding instructions for installing on their phones. They have also worked with the organizers of the Trent Introductory Studies Week to ensure that all new students in the Fall will be introduced to this app and to installing it on their phones. The app has also been used by Trent Health Services. The next phase in this project will be on obtaining funding for sustainability and marketing of this app across the university.

Please visit the app at www.tmhi.info