Policies and Strategies to Promote Optimal Mental Health of Australian University Students: A Document Review

Abstract

Issue Addressed

University students experience higher rates of poor mental health compared with the general adult population. In 2022, Orygen released the University Mental Health Framework (the Framework) to guide universities on creating mentally healthy universities. This document review assesses the extent to which Australian universities' current policies or strategies align with the Framework.

Methods

A systematic search of all Australian universities' websites was undertaken in January 2024. Results that met the inclusion criteria had data extracted for alignment with the six principles of the Framework. The policy was scored a 0 if the principle was absent/not considered, 1 if it was partially considered, and 2 if all aspects were considered. Each policy received a total score from 0 to 12 for alignment with the Framework principles.

Results

Twenty-five of the 39 Australian universities (64%) had a policy/strategy publicly available on their website focused on promoting optimal mental health of students. The mean score for alignment with the Framework principles was 3.9 ± 3.9 (Range 0–12). Principle 5, which focuses on students' access to services, was the most considered (n = 23, 58.9%) Principle 4, which focuses on collaborative and coordinated actions, was the least considered (n = 13, 33%).

Conclusions

This document review demonstrates the considerable scope and opportunity to improve the policies and strategies currently being implemented across Australian universities to support the mental health of students. Universities and the mental health sector therefore should work collectively, alongside students, to guide mental health policy development in the university setting.