This exploratory study examined students' off-campus study due to the Coronavirus pandemic and their access to psychological services. Students maintained positive attitudes toward accessing university-provided online psychological services, despite public stigma arising from friends and family. Student counselors also faced difficulties in providing their services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including overbooking, an excessive workload coupled with the demands of home life and poor technology and a lack of private spaces to offer their psychological services online.
Student counselors could also play a role in promoting the mental health of students when they are off campus during the COVID-19 pandemic by raising awareness of online psychological services and assisting with time management and coping mechanisms. Keywords: psychological services; The covid19 pandemic; Studying off campus; student assistance services; Theory of planned behavior.
Introduction
- Introduction
- Background
- Problem statement
- Rationale
- Objectives of the study
- Research questions
- Outline of the dissertation
- Conclusion…
In addition to a lack of mental health education, there are barriers that prevent students from using psychological services on campus. To explore ways students can promote their mental health while off campus due to COVID-19. To explore ways in which student counselors can promote the mental health of students when they are located off campus due to COVID-19.
How can students promote their mental health when based off campus due to COVID-19. How student counselors can promote students' mental health when based off campus due to COVID-19.
Literature review
- Introduction
- Psychological services in higher education
- Psychological services at UKZN
- Psychological services in higher education during COVID-19
- Barriers and challenges to accessing psychological services in higher education
- Mental health challenges faced by students during COVID-19
- Off-campus study and mental health
- Theoretical framework
- Attitudes towards seeking psychological services
- The role of subjective norms in seeking psychological services
- Perceived behavioural control towards seeking psychological services
- Conclusion
This research study therefore aimed to explore the challenges faced by students at UKZN in accessing psychological services when they are based off campus. To address the challenges of students at UKZN who are off campus due to COVID-19, experience accessing psychological services. What are some of the challenges that students, who are off campus due to COVID-19, experience with accessing psychological services.
What difficulties do student counselors who work off-campus due to COVID-19 encounter in providing psychological services. This chapter contains the introduction as well as the background of the study, the formulation of the research problem, the rationale of the study, the aims and research questions of the study.
Methodology
Introduction
Research approach
Research paradigm
Research design
Sampling
Data collection
- Activity 1: Photo elicitation interview pictures (students)
- Activity 2: Semi-structured interview (student counsellor)
Data analysis
Reflexivity
Trustworthiness
- Credibility
- Transferability
- Dependability
- Confirmability
Ethical considerations
Conclusion…
Research findings
Introduction
Study participants
RQ1: What are some of the challenges that students, who are off campus due to COVID-
- An intersection of household responsibilities, isolation, and studying
- Self-care vs self-indulgence: Attitudes towards reaching out for psychological
RQ2: What difficulties do student counsellors, who work off campus because of COVID-
- Fully booked today, tomorrow, and next week
- Student Support Services manager’s perspective
- Students’ perspective on counsellor availability
- Workload capacity and home life
- Poor technological connectivity and no private spaces
RQ3: How can students promote their mental health when they are based off campus due
- Prioritising physical, mental, and social well-being
- Virtual connection: Start or join WhatsApp and Zoom support groups
RQ4: How can student counsellors promote student mental health when they are based
- Raising awareness of online psychological awareness
- Assistance with time management and coping mechanisms
Conclusion
Discussion and conclusion
Introduction
It elaborates on how students can promote their mental health when they are located off campus due to COVID-19. Due to the merging of family life, study and home life by the COVID-19 pandemic, privacy was greatly compromised (Kombe & Mtonga, 2021). However, seven participants in this study stated that there were mental health challenges facing university students during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they were unaware of psychological services being offered off-campus by UKZN to help these students in need.
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation of students already suffering from an existing mental illness has been exacerbated (Lee et al., 2021). This also applied to the study participants who emphasized the importance of healthy eating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for further research and immediate.
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and self-isolation on students and staff in higher education: a qualitative study. Exploring college students' mental health and intentions to use online counseling in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic. Effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of college students in the United States: a survey study.
Burnout among distance learning students due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study at the University of Jordan.
Challenges that students of UKZN, who are off campus due to COVID-19, experience
- Unsuitable home environments and isolation
- Lack of awareness about online psychological services
- Misinformation about psychological help
Challenges that student counsellors, who are off campus due to COVID-19, experience in
- Staff shortage and high workload
- Challenges in the students’ environment and psychological services
The findings of the current inquiry show that UKZN's Student Support Services staff representative stated that they were fully booked due to the high volume of requests for their services and as a result there was a long waiting list with the risk of students' existing challenges escalating. The view of the student participants in the current survey also agreed with that of UKZN's psychologist Student Support Services: the university faced the challenge of having few deans while serving many students who needed psychological help but had to stay for a month. wait to access this service. Similarly, the study found that, according to the Student Support Services psychologist/manager, the staff who worked with her to provide this psychological service to students were feeling the pressure of COVID restrictions and the challenge of balancing work and life .
The increased workload of university counselors has resulted in them having to take time off or face the risk of burnout. This is also true of a member of staff from Student Support Services at UKZN, who stated that staff taking leave during the pandemic had become a challenge for the rest of the staff who had to deal with the high volume of requests from students for psychological services, resulting in points. where support staff had to work late at night or early in the morning to cope with the workload. Work-related stress is a common factor contributing to counselor burnout, and during the COVID 19 pandemic, this study found that university support staff members were likely to be stressed by service delivery and off-campus demands.
One of the biggest difficulties, globally, that students encountered with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was establishing a stable Internet connection (Hermano & . Denamarca, 2022). As mentioned by the Student Support Services psychologist/manager, students faced the problem of poor internet connection when accessing the online psychological services. The home environment also posed a challenge in terms of the lack of privacy, with students finding it difficult to effectively participate in their online lectures due to loud music being played in the home and children running around and playing during the student's online lecture (Kombe & Mtonga, 2021).
In addition to environmental challenges at home, as already mentioned, Wallengren et al. conducted a global study in 32 counties. 2021) on working and learning from home during COVID-19 and found that 14% of 166 participants who were full-time students found it difficult to find a place at home to study privately. This is also in line with the experiences faced by support services staff at UKZN in the delivery of psychological services where students found it difficult to consult with them as these telephone and Zoom communications took place at the homes of the students' families. It was also noted that students had to walk outside their dorms to consult with Student Services staff.
Ways in which students can promote their mental health when they are based off campus
- Being physically active
- Self-reflection and online interaction
COVID-19 restrictions prohibited individuals from gathering in a room and talking about what they were feeling; therefore, the closest thing to collective support during the COVID-19 pandemic was participation in online support groups (Williams et al., 2020). Online support groups have served as a reminder during the pandemic that what we may be dealing with is most likely what everyone else is dealing with, such as the issue of future uncertainty (Williams et al., 2020). In a study by Hechanova et al. 2021), the use of online support groups was found to show significant improvements in psychological well-being (Hechanova et al., 2021).
Similarly, participants in this study suggested that in order for students to promote their mental health while off campus due to COVID-19, they needed to start support groups, either on the WhatsApp platform or the Zoom communication platform. Students added that this type of online support would help them talk and open up about how they were feeling without fear of being judged, as everyone in the support group was in it for help. At the core of their existence, support groups aim to empower people by sharing their lived experiences with mental illness and what healthy strategies they have used to cope (Wynn, 2022).
The benefits of support groups are that they provide coping skills and practical knowledge of people living with mental illness; not only the members, but often the leader as well, have had a lived experience of dealing effectively with a mental illness (Wynn, 2022). However, there is also a downside to support groups, such as feeling intimidated about describing a personal experience, especially one involving anxiety (Keelan, 2022). Also, some groups can measure progress and if one of the members does not make enough progress, this can cause unnecessary stress (Keelan, 2022).
Ways in which student counsellors can promote the mental health of students, who are
- Increased awareness of online psychological services
- Time management and coping mechanisms
Additionally, the study explored ways students could promote their mental health when they were off-campus due to COVID-19, as well as ways student counselors could promote students' mental health when they were based off-campus due to COVID- 19. - 19. To promote students' mental health during the pandemic, participants emphasized the importance of physical exercise, healthy eating, self-reflection and online interaction. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Matters https://oecd-development-matters.org mental-health-and.-covid-19-in- developing-countries/.
The theory of planned behavior as it predicts potential intention to seek mental health services for depression among college students. Prevailing cultural and personal beliefs about stigma and use of mental health services: A cross-national comparison. Graduate student mental health: Results and recommendations of a needs assessment of psychology graduate students at the University of Ottawa.
Youth mental health literacy in South Africa: a study of University of KwaZulu-Natal students [Master's thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal]. Explore ways in which UKZN students can promote their mental health when working off-campus. How do student services address the mental health needs of students who may not have access to alternative services?
Limitations of the of the study
Recommendations
Further studies on the difference in the experience of accessing on-campus psychological services versus off-campus psychological services would shed more light on the current findings.
Conclusion
Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of common mental disorders among first-year students in post-apartheid South Africa: Implications for a public mental health approach to student well-being. Childhood maltreatment and mental health consequences in midlife adults: An investigation of daily stress and adult romantic relationships [Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University]. A new mental health awareness campaign is being launched today. http://www.bu.edu/articles/2018/new-mental-health-awareness-campaign-kicks-off-today/. Foundations of qualitative research.
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