Public health approaches to student mental health : a scoping review

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Feeny, Annabella and Verrall, Ella and Long, Emily and Sousa, Fabienne dos Santos and Cousquer, Glen and Melashenko, Daria and McCann, Sean and Tse, Dwight and Cogan, Nicola (2025) Public health approaches to student mental health : a scoping review. Other. OSF Preprints, Washington, DC. (https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6f2j8_v1)

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Abstract

The mental health of university students has increasingly been recognised as a critical public and planetary health concern. Globally, university students face many stressors which can significantly affect their mental well-being. Public health approaches to student mental health are beginning to be adopted by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to reduce the demand on mental health services and increase student wellbeing and resilience. A scoping review was conducted to synthesise the existing literature on public health approaches to student mental health in Higher Education settings and provide a comprehensive picture of how public health approaches are conceptualised and implemented and evolving, alongside their barriers. Relevant databases were searched for literature spanning a 15-year period (2009-2024). Significantly, public health approaches to student mental health are poorly defined and currently lack a systematic mapping of how primary, secondary and tertiary measures complement each other. Policymakers and HEIs should consider how public health approaches can contribute to a more strategic approach, prioritising early interventions, preventative measures, and the integration of mental health support across all aspects of university life to reduce the burden on support services and improve student wellbeing and resilience at a population level.

ORCID iDs

Feeny, Annabella, Verrall, Ella, Long, Emily, Sousa, Fabienne dos Santos, Cousquer, Glen, Melashenko, Daria, McCann, Sean, Tse, Dwight ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2725-1849 and Cogan, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0861-5133;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)