Bringing student voice into mental health analytics: A preliminary exploration of communication preferences and intervention needs

There are clear evidence gaps regarding student voice in mental health analytics research, with a lack of qualitative data, and theories of change underpinning analytic-driven interventions. Focus groups were conducted (n = 5 participants) to explore students views on how universities can best signpost students towards relevant resources. The study involved participatory techniques to collate ideas to inform communications design. Findings highlight the role that analytics can play in supporting students to navigate multiple sources of support, with improvements needed to ensure that communications are able to signpost effectively. For inclusive and impactful communications, participants suggested that these should be co-designed with students and be made available in range of alternative communication formats to address diverse student needs. By implementing an online hub of resources as advocated for in this study, analytics could be used to guide students towards relevant resources within one centralised location to remove barriers to help-seeking.