Mindful Campus – Strengthening Mental Health Literacy Among Students (MinCa)

The university-internal, structure-building project ‘MinCa’ aims to strengthen mental health literacy among students and to improve the overarching health-promoting framework conditions at the ‘Leibniz University Hannover’ (LUH) in the long term by establishing a ‘Student Health Management’ (Studentisches Gesundheitsmanagement - SGM).

A key goal of the project is to increase the visibility of existing mental health services at LUH and to improve collaboration among various stakeholders involved in health promotion.
Furthermore, as part of a qualitative and participatory research approach, vocational school teacher students will be addressed as future multipliers for the promotion of mental health skills in school and/or professional settings. The structures and measures established through the project will then be expended and adapted for other students at LUH. Other employee groups, such as teaching staff and employees in technical and administrative roles, will also be included within a setting-based approach.

In order to promote students' mental health skills on both a behavioral and a relational level in the long term, the project is conceptually based on both a structural and a curricular level. At the behavioral level, the focus is on strengthening students' individual mental health skills - for example, through the curricular integration of health literacy content or a participatory development of counselling, information, and support formates. At a relational level, structural networks are created through the realization of the SGM, the establishment of a steering group for health literacy promotion, and the introduction of an additional “Mental Health Literacy” certificate via a micro degree system.

In the long-term, the project aims to establish a comprehensive University Health Management programme (Hochschulisches Gesundheitsmanagement - HGM) at LUH and to embed mental health literacy offers into the university curriculum through a micro degree format. In this way, ‘MinCa’ contributes to strengthening and further developing the transfer of mental health skills acquired during university studies into students’ future professional fields.

IfBE-Contact

Dr. Natalie Banek

natalie.banek@ifbe.uni-hannover.de

Dr. Ariane Steuber

ariane.steuber@ifbe.uni-hannover.de

M. A. Janine Michele

janine.michele@ifbe.uni-hannover.de