Promoting International Students’Mental Health Unmet Needs:An Integrative Review

Background:There are increasing concerns about the mental health needs of international students.Previous studies report that international students experience additional challenges and higher levels of stress compared to domestic students.This integrative review aimed to identify perceived stressors,coping strategies and factors that contributed to accessing mental health services of international students.Methods:A systematic search was performed between January 2010 and December 2023 using PubMed,CINAHL,ProQuest,the Cochrane Library,Scopus and PsycINFO databases.A manual search was also performed that included reference lists of included articles;data was extracted and reviewed by three reviewers.A total of 21 studies were included in this review with a total of 4442 international students recruited,with ages between 17 to 43 years.Nineteen studies reported international students’gender,there were more females(n=2205)than males(n=1022).Ethnicity was reported in 18 studies.They included Asia,Europe,Latin America,North America,South America,Africa,the Middle East and Pacific Islands.This review adopted Whittemore and Knafl’s five-stage approach,with specific steps for problem identification,literature search,data evaluation,data analysis,and presentation.Results:The Health Belief Model was used to explain relationships among independent and dependent variables and guide the findings of this review.Three identified progressive themes emerged including Theme 1:understanding cultural variations with perceived stress;Theme 2:coping strategies in dealing with stress and challenges in the new environment;and Theme 3:perceived threats and stress affecting how international students perceived barriers and benefits to access counselling support services and mental health services.This integrative review presents an overview of mental health needs and factors contributing to the mental health and well-being of international students via the inclusion of studies with different designs,providing an in-depth understanding of the study phenomenon.The findings of this review may help university health providers,mental health professionals,academic institutions and policymakers better understand the multifaceted needs of international students.Conclusion:This review demonstrates the importance of increased cross-cultural interactions between international students and domestic student counterparts to enhance belongingness and connection to host countries.This may facilitate adaptation to new living and learning environments.It is crucial academic institutions offer programs that can be effectively implemented and sustained to meet the unmet mental health needs of international students.University orientation programs,student counselling and health services may integrate cultural events,social support groups,leadership programs and resilience models of acculturation to promote mental health and well-being among international students.While these studies show promising results,there is a need for further robust evaluative studies to develop culturally sensitive mental health promotion programs for international students.

Mental health promotion for elderly populations in World Health Organization South-East Asia Region:Needs and resource gaps

The accelerated population growth of the elderly(individuals aged 60 years or more)across the globe has many indications,including changes in demography,health,the psycho-social milieu,and economic security.This transition has given rise to varied challenges;significant changes have been observed in regard to developing strategies for health care systems across the globe.The World Health Organization(WHO)is also engaging in initiatives and mediating processes.Furthermore,advocacy is being conducted regarding a shift toward the salutogenic model from the pathogenic model.The concept behind this move was to shift from disablement to enablement and from illness to wellness,with the notion of mental health promotion(MHP)being promoted.This article attempts to discuss the MHP of elderly individuals,with special reference to the need to disseminate knowledge and awareness in the community by utilizing the resources of the health sector available in the WHO South-East Asia Region countries.We have tried to present the current knowledge gap by exploring the existing infrastructure,human resources,and financial resources.There is much to do to promote the mental health of the elderly,but inadequate facilities are available.Based on available resources,a roadmap for MHP in elderly individuals is discussed.