Pilot Study Links Institutional Mental Health Services to Student Mental Health Survey Data

Strategic Insights -

A recent pilot study, published on medrxiv.org, has made a significant breakthrough in linking institutional mental health services data to mental health data of students at higher education institutions. The study aimed to identify evidence-based best practices for student mental health services by partnering with existing research infrastructure. The findings demonstrate that partnering with existing research networks can achieve high response rates and provide valuable insights into college mental health services.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study pilot linked data from 77 institutions (69% response rate) to the Healthy Minds Survey (HMS) data, which collected mental health data from students.
  • No institutional characteristic was significantly associated with response rate.
  • The study demonstrated that using existing research networks to collect institutional data can provide a way forward for research on college mental health services.
  • The pilot study focused on institutional policies regarding mental health session limits for students.
  • The study's results suggest that partnering with existing research infrastructure can achieve high response rates in collecting institutional mental health services data.
  • The study's conclusion highlights the potential of linking student mental health data to institutional data for evidence-based best practices.

Statistics:

  • 111 institutional representatives were invited to complete a short survey.
  • 77 institutions responded to the survey, resulting in a 69% response rate.
  • 10.1101/2025.07.03.25330219v1 is the identifier for the preprint on medrxiv.org.

Sources:

  • medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.03.25330219v1
  • Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)