Improving Mental Health Communications on College Campus
CHALLENGE
How and where messages are delivered can be as important as the message itself.
For messages about depression, how and where messages are delivered can be critical to whether or not the student seeks help.
RESEARCH QUESTION
When a mental health message is related to students' anxiety and is featured in a noisy environment, would students will be more likely to process and absorb the message?
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Design: Simulation
Qualitative: Survey
FINDINGS
Noise affects students’ state anxiety, even just after 30 minutes of acute exposure.
Students paid more attention to a mental health message that was congruent to the environment.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Health communicators and designers should design messages that facilitate attention by considering how to mitigate effects (e.g., anxiety) associated with exposures to environmental stressors.
PUBLICATION