NIMHANS paper highlights role of digital tools in strengthening campus mental health systems

Even as technology gains ground globally as a key enabler of student mental-health support, India’s higher education system is yet to fully tap its potential. Highlighting this, a recent publication by a team of researchers from NIMHANS has called for a more strategic, evidence-informed approach to integrating digital tools into campus mental-health services.

The paper, authored by Seema Mehrotra, professor of clinical psychology at NIMHANS, and colleagues, has been published in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics.

The researchers identified a series of hurdles that impede wider adoption of digital mental-health solutions - ranging from limited evidence from low- and middle-income countries and low levels of digital literacy, to the proliferation of unregulated apps, linguistic diversity among users, and difficulties in sustaining user engagement.

Need for clear policy

They stressed that higher education institutions must put in place clear policies on data governance, privacy and confidentiality, and ensure transparency around digital offerings. Digital platforms, they caution, should supplement human-led services rather than be viewed as substitutes.

Noting students’ comfort with technology and its ease of access, the paper highlighted the role of digital tools within stepped-care models, where credible self-help resources can address milder well-being concerns while increasing levels of human guidance and professional support are made available for more complex needs.

Effective implementation, the authors pointed out, requires built-in features such as algorithm-driven nudges that encourage help-seeking when needed, clear crisis-support pathways, integration with offline services, and transparent communication about what digital and in-person interventions can and cannot offer.

“Our paper also mapped a broad landscape of potential applications for technology-enabled platforms,” Dr. Mehrotra told The Hindu.

“These include training institutional leaders and teachers on student-support practices, developing repositories of credible information for students, providing anonymous self-screening tools, hosting moderated peer-support spaces, offering minimally guided self-help programmes, conducting targeted outreach to distressed students who are not seeking professional help, enabling blended care models that integrate digital self-help with therapy sessions, and improving access to tele-helplines during crises,” she said.

Policy level actions

Importantly, the authors pointed to several actions required at the policy level. These include formulation of national guidelines for mental-health app developers, creation of user-guidance tools, etc.

The paper called for higher public investment, dedicated budget lines for student mental health, exploration of blended-finance models, and long-term implementation-effectiveness research to understand how digital mental-health systems can be meaningfully integrated into mainstream services.

The paper concluded that when thoughtfully embedded within campus ecosystems, technology can widen access, reduce stigma and enhance efficiency in student mental-health care. Meaningful progress, however, will require sustained research investment, robust national policy frameworks, etc., it said.

Digital tools, the authors emphasised, must complement, not replace, the human relationships that remain central to supporting student well-being.