Nurture Your Future

Loma Linda University, Department of Occupational Therapy

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS:
Cherise Hennigan, OT Graduate Student
Kaila Hisayasu, OT Graduate Student
Kassandra Chavez, OT Graduate Student
Faculty Advisor: Liane Hewitt, DrPH, CHES, OTR/L
Faculty Advisor: Praveen Injeti, MA, MFT, OTR/L
Facility Collaborator: Jana Boyd, PhD, LMFT

Abstract
Background:
One in five U.S adults experience mental illness each year, this represents 21% of U.S adults
(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2021). Of this percentage, mental
illness was the highest among young adults 18- 25 years old, followed by 26 to 49 years old
(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2021). If this is not alarming
enough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WISQARS Leading
Causes of Death Reports, in 2019 suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death among people 10-
34 years old. According to the most recent survey conducted by Healthy Minds Network 2021,
41% of college students in the U.S reported depression including major and moderate depression
and 34% screened positive for anxiety disorder. In the same study 81% of students reported that
in the past month their mental health difficulties had negatively impacted their academic
performance (Healthy Minds Network, 2021). As one can see, addressing mental health on
college campuses requires collaboration across all disciplines and OT has a vital role with
helping this population. As we continued our needs assessment we found that the Student
Assistance Program at LLU treats students presenting with problems such as anxiety, emotional
regulation, depression, stress management, anger management, low motivation, sleep, coping
skills, relationship issues, self care, communication and self esteem. The most commonly
presenting problem among the students was anxiety, depression, emotional regulation and
relationship issues. In addition, it was alarming to see that in the span of two months SAP treated
only an average of five males per month.
Overall, the need for occupational therapy to address mental health on college campuses
has fueled our program development. Occupational therapy can bring a unique perspective to
address mental health needs by assisting students to develop self-care, study skills, healthy habits
and routines that support their roles, occupational participation and overall wellness (AOTA,
2008).

Methods:
To address the concerns surrounding student mental health at LLU, the SAP reached out to the
Occupational Therapy department to create a program aimed to address some of the prevalent
issues seen amongst the student body. “Nurture Your Future” is a virtual, module-based mental
health program designed for students, by students. The program’s module topics were derived
from our needs assessments which consist of 5 interactive modules: Welcome To
LLU/Transitions, Balancing Student Life, Building Resilience, Healthy Sleep Habits, and
Feeling Confident in Your Skin. These modules are designed to be prescribed and completed as
either a series or independent of one another. Each module includes resources, videos, and
evidence-based activities that coordinate with a downloadable worksheet, which students can
share with their counselor.

Results:
Outcomes of the “Nurture Your Future” program will be monitored by the department upon its
facilitation, which is expected to be in the Summer of 2022 academic quarter. The program and
all its contents will be shared with the SAP to then be prescribed by counselors to students as
needed, however, any student will have access to these modules via the SAP website. The
collaboration between the SAP and the OT department is an ongoing process, and updates to the
program and its modules will be likely in the future as the mental health needs of the students
evolve.

REFERENCES:
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2008). FAQ: School mental health.
Retrieved January 12, 2021, from http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/PracticeAreas
/Pediatrics/Browse/MH/FAQSchoolMH.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based injury statistics query and
reporting system (WISQARS) [online] National Center for Injury Prevention and Control,
CDC (producer); 2016a. Available from: URL:
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Key substance use
and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2020 National Survey
on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP21-07-01-003, NSDUH Series H-56).
Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/
Healthy Minds Network (2021). Healthy Minds Study among Colleges and Universities,
year (Fall 2019 - 2021 Winter) [Data set]. Healthy Minds Network, University of
Michigan, University of California Los Angeles, Boston University, and Wayne State
University. https://healthymindsnetwork.org/reserach/data-for-researchers