Putting the spotlight on mental health. All studies warn that problems and disorders will increase, multiply or worsen after the pandemic. The University of Oviedo also put the matter on the table, it is also known that university students have special characteristics. Because “the stage of the university is the moment of “changes”, in which various stresses and conditions can occur that pose significant challenges”. They create a kind of “constancy and transience that makes stress more frequent and increases the risk of mental health problems.” If we add to this that during the pandemic “psychological discomfort has only grown”, the result is, as expected, more worrying.
For this reason, the University of Oviedo, which has already started working in this field, has to go one step further. The institution participated in the drafting of the Consensus document on health and emotional well-being in universities, prepared by the Spanish Network of Health-Promoting Universities. Yolanda de la Roca, from the Occupational Risk Prevention Service, specifically from the Department of Ergonomics and Psychosociology of the University of Oviedo, participated in drafting the document. The said document collects data such that a third of university students already had anxiety symptoms before the pandemic and that there was a 10% risk of developing an eating disorder. According to the project carried out by the QVI in eight countries in universities, there is a “lifetime prevalence of mental disorders of 35.5%”. One of the five affected stated that “psychosocial disturbances are generated not only at the academic level, but also in social life, in personal relationships and at work.”
All surveys and research, including those carried out by the National Faculty of Psychology and the National Health Psychology, conclude a high incidence of personal problems among university students. “At the University of Oviedo, due to the pandemic, the fragility of the emotions of prosperity has been revealed, from the fear of getting sick, the fatigue from uncertainty, social isolation, or personal and financial losses.” it is. Yolanda Stone
With the pandemic, the “fragility of the emotional well-being” of the entire University community is evident
For its part, the Clinical Psychology Unit shared a new study (the last one from 2019) on the academic, interpersonal and emotional problems of university students and the demands for psychological care, which includes an analysis of perceived changes. as the effect of the pandemic. 5,221 students from all undergraduate and postgraduate courses from 35 public and private Spanish universities participated, of which 1,660 are from the University of Oviedo. “Regarding our 2019 study, and consistent with other research, we found an increase in the reporting of emotional difficulties, specifics, anxiety responses”, Concepción Fernández-RodrÃguez, director of the Unit, professor of Analysis and Behavior Modification and coordinator. of the INTEREPSA Group.
resource endowment
Given all this, the document prepared by the Network of Health-Promoting Universities makes a series of recommendations that government teams should order “a permanent endowment of material and personal resources to increase the mental health of the university community”. in addition to “channels of psychological care favoring the university community, such as, for example, the own Psychological Care Service and/or agreements with the Official Colleges of Psychology of autonomous communities, at a reduced price.” At the University of Oviedo they are “developing ways to pay attention to the mind and body of the student”, although nothing has been formalized yet.
As for teaching and administrative staff, public relations are also subjected to a large number of stresses that can hinder their well-being and even clearly predispose to the development of mental health disorders. As of 2021, the Employee Assistance Program has been created, which “meets personal needs and provides coping skills for situations of anxiety, stress, conflict or others that cause psychological distress or emotional exhaustion.”
Putting the spotlight on mental health. All studies warn that problems and disorders will increase, multiply or worsen after the pandemic. The University of Oviedo also put the matter on the table, it is also known that university students have special characteristics. Because “the stage of the university is the moment of “changes”, in which various stresses and conditions can occur that pose significant challenges”. They create a kind of “constancy and transience that makes stress more frequent and increases the risk of mental health problems.” If we add to this that during the pandemic “psychological discomfort has only grown”, the result is, as expected, more worrying.
For this reason, the University of Oviedo, which has already started working in this field, has to go one step further. The institution participated in the drafting of the Consensus document on health and emotional well-being in universities, prepared by the Spanish Network of Health-Promoting Universities. Yolanda de la Roca, from the Occupational Risk Prevention Service, specifically from the Department of Ergonomics and Psychosociology of the University of Oviedo, participated in drafting the document. The said document collects data such that a third of university students already had anxiety symptoms before the pandemic and that there was a 10% risk of developing an eating disorder. According to the project carried out by the QVI in eight countries in universities, there is a “lifetime prevalence of mental disorders of 35.5%”. Of those who are affected in five, he states that “psychosocial disturbances are generated not only at the academic level, but also in social life, personal relationships and work”.
All surveys and research, including those carried out by the National Faculty of Psychology and the National Health Psychology, conclude a high incidence of personal problems among university students. “At the University of Oviedo, due to the pandemic, the fragility of the emotions of prosperity has been revealed, from the fear of getting sick, the fatigue from uncertainty, social isolation, or personal and financial losses.” it is. Yolanda Stone
With the pandemic, the “fragility of the emotional well-being” of the entire University community is evident
For its part, the Clinical Psychology Unit shared a new study (last from 2019) on the academic, interpersonal and emotional problems of university students and their demands for psychological care, which includes an analysis of perceived changes. as the effect of the pandemic. 5,221 students from all undergraduate and postgraduate courses from 35 public and private Spanish universities participated, of which 1,660 are from the University of Oviedo. “In our 2019 study and in line with other research, we found an increase in people reporting negative emotional, specific, anxiety responses,” explains Concepción Fernández-RodrÃguez, director of the Unit, professor of Behavior Analysis and Modification and coordinator. of the INTEREPSA Group.
resource endowment
Given all this, the document prepared by the Network of Health-Promoting Universities makes a series of recommendations that government teams should order “a permanent endowment of material and personal resources to increase the mental health of the university community”. in addition to “channels favoring psychological care for the university community, such as, for example, the own Psychological Care Service and/or agreements with the Official Colleges of Psychology of autonomous communities, at a reduced price.” At the University of Oviedo they are “developing ways to pay attention to the mind and body of the student”, although nothing has been formalized yet.
As for the teaching and administrative staff, public relations are also subjected to a large number of stresses that can hinder their emotional well-being and can even clearly precipitate the development of a mental health disorder. Since 2021, the Employee Assistance Program has been created, which “meets personal needs and provides coping skills for situations of anxiety, stress, conflict or others that cause psychological distress or emotional exhaustion.”
