Results of a Formative Process Evaluation of Canada’s Student Mental Health Network (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Prevalence estimates for mental health issues among Canadian post-secondary students, including stress, psychological distress, and symptoms of common mental disorders continue to increase. In tandem, an increased acknowledgement of the need for comprehensive, upstream mental health promotion support for students has been highlighted. While the majority of post-secondary institutions offer some form of mental health promotion, research suggests that students are failing to access available supports due to notable barriers including lack of awareness of available resources, geographical or financial barriers, and/or lack of relevance and student interest in what is offered. Canada’s Student Mental Health Network (the Network) was created to fill these gaps, acting as a ‘one-stop shop’ for mental health education and evidence-based resources. This paper describes the results of a formative, process evaluation of the Network after approximately one year of operations. The goal was to assess acceptability and feasibility using a concurrent mixed methods evaluation design. Quantitative data collected through Google Analytics were used to assess website reach, engagement, and usership while qualitative, individual interviews provided more detailed insights into user experience and website attributes, as well as feedback on content delivery. Results provided supporting evidence for both acceptability and feasibility of the Network, in addition to identifying areas for additional content development and accessibility improvements moving forward.