Post-Secondary Mental Health and Well-Being Research and Knowledge Hub
About
UCalgary’s Community Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy and the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education are collaborating with researchers, service-providers, knowledge users, and people with lived experience to co-create a research and knowledge hub to advance mental health and well-being within the post-secondary and broader community.
To advance post-secondary mental health and well-being research and knowledge mobilization to create thriving and inclusive post-secondary communities.
- Adopt a holistic, whole-institution approach: A uniquely holistic and whole-institution approach focused on upstream, health-promoting approaches and early responses/interventions by addressing social determinants of health.
- Engage community: Meaningful and collaborative engagement with community, both within Ucalgary, within the city of Calgary, the province, and the country; and alongside other post-secondary institutions.
- Bridge research and practice gap: We will prioritize cultivating partnerships between people with lived experience, service providers, administrators, policy makers, and researchers in effort to bridge the gap between research and practice.
- Identify best practices: As we bridge the research and practice gap, we also want to identify best practices that meaningfully enhance the health and well-being of our communities.
- Deliver collaborative knowledge sharing: We will share knowledge broadly, enabling tangible impacts across post-secondary and the communities within which we exist.
- Become a Centre of Excellence: We want to become a leading source of cutting-edge research in post-secondary mental health and well-being that drives culture change so that everyone can thrive.
- Integrating equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility throughout research and knowledge translation projects, ultimately creating systemic changes and a sense of community and belonging for all.
- Committing to collaborative strategies to build community partnerships and conduct transdisciplinary research to maximize our impacts and learn from one another.
- Allowing those with lived experience to take on leadership of projects, provide input into research directions and priorities, and be meaningfully involved in a process of co-creation.
- Conducting research which considers holistic conceptualizations of mental health in addition to clinical interventions.
- Research with impact: Balancing our efforts to conduct practice-informed research and then implement findings in research-informed practice.
Emerging priorities
Recent and ongoing research
Co-Designing Student Mental Health Data Frameworks: Toward Inclusive, Transparent, and Engaging Data Practices in Post-Secondary Settings
This study used co-design methods to engage post-secondary students in generating recommendations for future development and refinement of mental health survey tools, ensuring these tools are relevant and reflective of student priorities. The findings informed the development of a conceptual framework linking survey design to principles of equity, transparency, student agency, and accountability across the survey lifecycle.
Framework for Research in Emerging Adults (FREA)
FREA is a digital education and research platform designed to connect emerging adults (ages 14-24) with lived experience to research opportunities through a user-friendly registry and engagement hub. The platform aims to improve accessibility to information and research opportunities, study recruitment, and ongoing engagement in mental health research.
Post-Secondary Mental Health and Well-Being Community of Practice
The Post-Secondary Mental Health and Well-Being Community of Practice (CoP) aims to:
- Connect members of the UCalgary community who might not otherwise have the opportunity to interact, either as frequently or at all, which could lead to new
opportunities and transdisciplinary collaboratons in postsecondary mental health and well-being research or knowledge dissemination. - Reduce isolation and silos that exist within trainees, postdoctoral scholars, and staff by providing a welcoming, inclusive space
- Provide a shared space for people to discuss important topics, share information and experiences, and build a better understanding of research and knowledge mobilization regarding post-secondary mental health and well-being.
- Simulate learning by sharing existing knowledge, practicing/building skills, encouraging authentic conversations, mentoring each other, and engaging in self-reflection.
This CoP invites undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and non-faculty staff (including research assistants - paid or volunteer) who are interested/engaged in research and/or knowledge mobilization related to postsecondary mental health and wellbeing.
Dr. Jennifer Thannhauser, PhD, RPsych
Academic Director, Mental Health & Well-being, Office of Institutional Commitments
Evaluation & Research Lead, Community Mental Health & Well-being Strategy/Department of Psychology
Adjunct Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education
