Cultivating Student Mental Health and Wellness at the University of Florida
The goal of the Connection and Community Initiative is to reduce the barriers students experience when trying to support their mental health and well-being. By combining expertise in mental health and prevention science, we aim to create a caring campus that supports students in their endeavors at the University of Florida. Through research and evidence-based prevention models, we seek to understand the needs and preferences of students. From this deeper understanding, we plan to inform current mental health initiatives on campus and implement activities that will prevent adverse mental health outcomes and promote overall wellness for the University of Florida student body.
Our vision: A culture of connection and wellness at the University of Florida.
Our mission: To partner with students, staff, and faculty at the University of Florida to cultivate a caring campus community that focuses on student-identified wellness priorities through research, prevention science, advocacy, and systems improvement.
Currently the initiative is conducting two projects to better understand how we can support student mental health:
Eliminating Barriers to Mental Well-Being for College Person(s) Focus Group Study: This project facilitates group discussions with students about their mental health challenges and experiences seeking support. Our goal is to learn from students about what mental health challenges students face, what resources work for them, which ones do not, and what additional support they would like to see from the University.
Social Network Analysis Project: This project seeks to create a “map” of the social connections between students, helping us to identify patterns of isolation and connection as well as student groups that can support their peers.
This initiative is supported by the Office of the Provost.