The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has initiated a multi-state implementation research study on student mental health that is being conducted in eight states and union territories, including Karnataka.
Three-year project
This three-year project is aimed at developing resources within educational campuses to establish an evidence-informed, feasible, scalable and sustainable implementation model for mental wellbeing promotion and suicide risk reduction among students in schools from 9th and 10th standards, pre-university and colleges.
NIMHANS in collaboration with the State Health and Education departments will implement and evaluate this ICMR project across a heterogeneous pool of 67 educational campuses in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural over a three-year period. In this regard, a consultative meeting was held at Arogya Soudha on Thursday.
In his remarks at the meeting, State Health Commissioner Randeep D. stressed on the urgent need for evolving a robust model for student mental health and suicide risk reduction through this project. The project can be scaled up for the entire State in the coming days, he said.
Continuum approach
NIMHANS director Pratima Murthy said addressing student mental health needs involves a continuum approach. “This encompasses supporting youth who may be experiencing diagnosable levels of common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, as well as those who may be dealing with elevated levels of stress and distress,” she said. She pointed out that early recognition and appropriate support can play a crucial role in preventing escalation of distress resulting in loss of young lives.
Seema Mehrotra, Professor of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, who is the principal investigator of the project, said that a multidisciplinary team of experts at NIMHANS will work closely with the Education and Health Departments, heads of various government, government-aided and private educational institutions catering to youth and young adults.
