Mental Health Promotion and Stigma Reduction Among University Students Using the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) Framework: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

Kenneth Fung; Sheng-Li Cheng; Xuan Ning; Alan Tai-Wai Li; Jingxuan Zhang; Jenny Jing-Wen Liu; Carla T Hilario; Xiaojing Cheng; Miao Yu; Cun-Xian Jia; Jianguo Gao; Josephine Pui-Hing Wong

doi:10.2196/25592

Mental Health Promotion and Stigma Reduction Among University Students Using the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) Framework: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Res Protoc. 2021 Aug 26;10(8):e25592. doi: 10.2196/25592.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Social Work, School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
³ Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Regent Park Community Health Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Shandong Mental Health Centre, Jinan, China.
⁶ University of Alberta, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology, Shandong University, Jinan, China.

PMID: 34435956
PMCID: PMC8430866
DOI: 10.2196/25592

Abstract

Background: Rapid urbanization, academic pressures, and developmental life transition stressors contribute to mental health stress for postsecondary students in China. Effective prevention, early identification, and timely intervention are challenged by stigma, a lack of mental health literacy, and inadequate mental health resources.

Objective: Our implementation science (IS) research project is aimed at evaluating the use of an evidence-informed mental health promotion intervention named Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment - Linking Youth and 'Xin' (hearts) (ACE-LYNX) to promote university student mental health in Jinan, China.

Methods: We will engage and collaborate with Shandong Mental Health Center, the provincial mental health center, and six local universities in different regions of Jinan. The ACE-LYNX intervention aims to reduce social stigma against mental illness, enhance mental health literacy, and improve access to quality mental health care by increasing interdisciplinary collaboration and forming a mental health network. It is based on two evidence-based approaches, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Group Empowerment Psychoeducation (GEP), and it will be delivered through online learning and in-person group training. The project will train 90 interdisciplinary professionals using the model. They will in turn train 15 professionals and 20 students at each university. The project will adopt the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, which provides a structure to examine the process and outcomes of implementation using mixed methods comprising quantitative and qualitative approaches along five dimensions: reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance.

Results: Over the course of the project, 720 champions will be directly trained. They will contribute to developing a formal and informal mental health network, strengthened by student-led mental health initiatives and professional-led initiatives to promote collaborative care and facilitated care pathways. We anticipate that our project will reach out to 11,000 to 18,000 students.

Conclusions: This IS protocol will outline our unique intervention model and key steps to contextualize, implement, and evaluate community-based mental health intervention.

International registered report identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/25592.

Keywords: China; implementation science; intervention; mental health; stigma reduction; university students.

©Kenneth Fung, Sheng-Li Cheng, Xuan Ning, Alan Tai-Wai Li, Jingxuan Zhang, Jenny Jing-Wen Liu, Carla T Hilario, Xiaojing Cheng, Miao Yu, Cun-Xian Jia, Jianguo Gao, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 26.08.2021.