The U-Flourish Project is a longitudinal study that will be examining the well-being and academic success of students over the course of their university studies.
Since this research launched in September 2018 with a baseline electronic survey sent to all first year incoming undergraduates, thousands of Queen鈥檚 students have joined the conversation and 鈥渉ad their say鈥 by completing electronic surveys every Fall and Winter semester. We expanded the survey, inviting all undergraduate students to share how they were managing in the wake of COVID-19 in July 2020.
We are now further expanding the U-Flourish Project to include all interested undergraduate and graduate students across programs and years of study. Our goal, together with students, is to understand better what is needed to guide the development and enhancement of services and initiatives that will ensure a successful transition to university life and strong mental health throughout university. This study is also being done in collaboration with the so that we can compare between universities and countries.
Featured Articles
Best Practices in Canadian Higher Ed. features U-Flourish
Best Practices in Canadian Higher Ed., a national mental health practice and knowledge exchange network, features U-Flourish and other Canadian mental health research, project, and initiatives.
Student mental health in the age of COVID-19
(Oct 14, 2020, Queen's Gazette)
For months now, tuning in to the news has meant unleashing a deluge of coverage about the coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to keep informed, we watch the experts 鈥 health care leaders, academics, journalists, politicians 鈥 discuss and debate COVID-19 effects on our lungs or hearts, our economies, our education; our day-to-day routines.
Last week, a panel of Queen鈥檚 University experts hosted a virtual discussion with hundreds of Queen鈥檚 students and community members about another, lesser-discussed impact of the pandemic: the toll it is having on our mental health...
How Can I Get Involved?
All students who have completed a U-Flourish survey in the past are eligible to participate in future surveys. This includes any student who completed the July 2020 COVID-19 Student survey. If you have not yet joined the UFlourish survey study, please look out for an invitation coming to you in the fall or winter semester to your Queen鈥檚 student email. Undergraduate and graduate students will be invited to participate. Thank you to those who have completed our surveys thus far.
Stay tuned for more information about upcoming surveys, findings, and ways to let us know what you need to succeed.
You should participate in U-Flourish because it will be the first study of its kind to examine fully what determines whether a student will be successful at university, right here at Queen's. The purpose of this study is to gather information that can be used across the Queen鈥檚 departments in order to implement positive changes to the overall student experience. You will have the opportunity to tell us about what you need to succeed as a student and inform the development of tailored student resources and services.
Articles
- U-Flourish Student Wellbeing Research (University of Oxford)
- Mental health care for university students: a way forward? (PubMed)
- University student mental health care is at the tipping point (The Conversation)
- Mental health need of students at entry to university: Baseline findings from the U-Flourish Student Well-Being and Academic Success Study. (University of Oxford)
- Predictors of mental health and academic outcomes in first-year university students: Identifying prevention and early-intervention targets (Cambridge University Press)
- U-Flourish university students well-being and academic success longitudinal study: a study protocol (BMJ Open)
Podcasts
In 1621, Robert Burton published The Anatomy of Melancholy. It was the first attempt in the modern western world to understand and categorise causes, symptoms and treatments of that universal ... |
Initial findings from the Baseline 2018 U-Flourish Survey
![You spoke, we learned there were difference in symptoms across genders](/u-flourish/sites/ufrwww/files/uploaded_files/SWS-Assets/2018-researchfindings/UF%20Results%20Social%20wideformat%20v01-09.jpg)
![You spoke, we learned about the rate of current treatment. 8.5% of Queen's students were receiving at least some form of support or help for their mental health team](/u-flourish/sites/ufrwww/files/uploaded_files/SWS-Assets/2018-researchfindings/UF%20Results%20Social%20wideformat%20v01-08.jpg)
![We learned the extent of substance use and binge drinking. With 25% of students reporting binge drinking at least once a week; and 11% reported using cannabis at least once a week.](/u-flourish/sites/ufrwww/files/uploaded_files/SWS-Assets/2018-researchfindings/UF%20Results%20Social%20wideformat%20v01-06.jpg)
![You spoke, we learned there were difference in symptoms across genders](/u-flourish/sites/ufrwww/files/uploaded_files/SWS-Assets/2018-researchfindings/UF%20Results%20Social%20wideformat%20v01-05.jpg)
![You spoke we heard almost 20% of students reported significant problems with their sleep](/u-flourish/sites/ufrwww/files/uploaded_files/SWS-Assets/2018-researchfindings/UF%20Results%20Social%20wideformat%20v01-03.jpg)
![You spoke, we heard 32.5% of all students reported experiencing significant symptoms of anxiety. 27.6% of all students reported experiencing significant symptoms of depression](/u-flourish/sites/ufrwww/files/uploaded_files/SWS-Assets/2018-researchfindings/UF%20Results%20Social%20wideformat%20v01-02.jpg)
U-Flourish Digitally Supported Care Pathway for Anxiety and Depression
Connect with us
For more information about the U-Flourish Student Well-being Research, please feel free to contact the U-Flourish team at flourish@queensu.ca.
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Funding
U-Flourish has been continuously funded by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Rossy Family Foundation. We thank the following campus and community partners for providing FLEX credit and food incentives for the student engagement campaign: 成人大片's Division of Student Affairs and Domino's Pizza, respectively. We also thank all 成人大片 Professors, Departments, and student groups that have supported the U-Flourish鈥檚 student engagement campaigns.
For the development of the Digital Well-Being Platform, Online Mental Health Course, and integration of digital resources into student care pathways at Student Health Services, we have received funding from the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation.