After years of data collection, a new centre could thrust the field of student mental health forward.
Over the next five years, Queen’s will funnel a $2.875 million donation by the Rossy Family Foundation to students’ mental health with the creation of the U-Flourish Centre. The project collects data from students and responds to their needs with tangible resources.
At the helm of the project is Dr. Anne Duffy, professor of psychiatry at Queen’s.
“It’s to make sure all the information we’re finding out from the research gets translated into usable, scalable, adapted resources,” Duffy said in an interview with The Journal. “It’s a Centre of excellence in translational research education.”
The Centre will train masters, PhD, and medical students in the field of student mental health. The initial grant includes budget lines for preliminary mental health research which is required to secure future grants.
To students, the Centre will curate a library of resources, stemming from years of research at Queen’s. The 2018 Queen’s U-Flourish survey, which collected data from 60 per cent of incoming first-year students, was critical to determining how to meet students’ needs.
More than 10 years ago, Queen’s was rocked by the deaths of six students in just over a year, with two confirmed suicides. U-Flourish is the product of the research, funding, and internal reflection that came after these deaths, Duffy explained.
“It was different from any other survey […] We really hoped we would learn from students and translate findings into evidence-based resources,” Duffy said.
The U-Flourish survey is now virtual and occurs biannually, collecting data from first-year and upper-year students.
“We have probably one of the best data sets around the world in student well-being and mental health prior to, during, and after the pandemic,” Duffy said.
As with the U-Flourish survey, involving Queen’s students will be a major pillar of the new Centre. Students will be research assistants and have opportunities to get involved in the research itself. Duffy is forging partnerships beyond students, with Student Wellness Services (SWS) and istration being brought into the fold through U-Flourish.
“As we go along, we’re having the conversation with students, we’re collecting evidence, and then we’ll continue to translate that into resources. Then we’ll go back and improve resources further,” Duffy added.
Outside of Queen’s, Duffy hopes U-Flourish will make a national impact. In Canada, there’s no national database on students pursuing higher education to compare their well-being to other young people in the general population.
“The U-Flourish Centre could be the start of a national think tank based on the evidence, and translating the evidence into policy and guidelines,” Duffy said.
Duffy’s ion comes from her investment in the success of students.
“I’m a mum and I have two kids at university and I’m very invested in their experience and learning from them, and their friends, and other students that we study to ensure university is an exciting, and of course challenging time, but a time where people can flourish,” Duffy said.
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