Linking Hearts: Advancing Mental Health Care of University Students in Jinan

Background

In China, rapid industrialization and economic growth have led to tremendous stress on individuals living in large cities. Epidemiological data indicated a prevalence of 17.5% of all mental disorders, 6.1% of mood disorders, and 5.6% of anxiety disorders.

Further, recent data suggested that mental disorders accounted for 9.5% of all disability-adjusted life-years and 23.6% of all years lived with disability in China, which translate into a loss of gross national product at CNY2,681 billion. Young people constitute a particularly vulnerable population for the onset of major mental illness, including mood and anxiety disorders as well as psychosis.

The prevalence of depression and anxiety among children and youth (13-26) in China ranges from 16% to 24%.3 Further, the prevalence of depression among university students is even higher at 20 to 30%, which is alarming given that one in five of the world’s college/university students are in China. Academic pressure, achievement expectations, study stress, living away from home, and ineffective coping strategies were found to be associated with mental distress and psychological disorders, including suicide idealization, self-abuse, internet addiction, anxiety and depression.

Targeted prevention, early identification, and intervention are critical in light of increasing evidence on the association between the duration of untreated mental disorders and negative clinical outcomes.

Aims

The aim of Linking Hearts was to study the adaptation and implementation of an integrated evidence-informed mental health intervention, Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment – Linking Youth and ‘Xin’ (hearts) (ACE-LYNX) in Jinan, Shandong, China.

Project plan

Improve access to quality mental health care for university students in Jinan, Shandong Province, China;
reduce stigma against mental illness that impede help-seeking, targeted prevention, early identification, timely treatment, and optimal recovery;
improve interdisciplinary collaboration through collective empowerment and capacity building; and
advance implementation science knowledge in the field of community mental health practices/interventions that can be scaled up in other real-life context.

Impact

The project showed that participating in a variety of extracurricular activities can benefit the mental health of university students in China.

Publications and output

You may visit the project website for more information.