{"id":37487,"date":"2017-01-13T13:16:44","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T21:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=37487"},"modified":"2017-01-13T13:16:44","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T21:16:44","slug":"helping-universities-combat-depression-mobile-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/helping-universities-combat-depression-mobile-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping universities combat depression with mobile technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"howareyou\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Depression is the leading mental health issue<\/a> on college campuses in the U.S. In 2015, a survey of more than 90,000 students<\/a> at 108 American colleges and universities found that during the previous year, more than one-third of them had felt so depressed at some point that it was difficult to function. More than two-thirds had felt hopeless in the preceding academic year.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s college students are dealing with depression at an alarmingly high rate<\/a>, and are increasingly seeking help<\/a> from on-campus mental health services. Depression is also an underlying cause of other common problems<\/a> on college campuses, including alcohol and substance abuse, eating disorders, self-injury, suicide and dropping out of school.<\/p>\n

But university counseling centers, the primary sources for students to get mental health care, are struggling to meet this rising demand. First, it can take a long time for clinicians to gain a full picture of what students are experiencing: Depressed students\u2019 accounts of their symptoms are often inaccurate and incomplete.<\/p>\n

In addition, budget constraints and limited office hours mean the number of clinicians on campus has not grown, and in some cases has shrunk<\/a>, despite increasing demand. There simply are not enough university clinicians available to serve every student \u2013 and few, if any, at critical times like nights and weekends. The number of students on counseling waiting lists doubled from 2010 to 2012<\/a>. This can leave students waiting long periods without help. In the worst cases, this can have lifelong \u2013 or life-ending \u2013 consequences.<\/p>\n

Using mobile technology for mental illness diagnosis<\/a> and treatment is becoming a hot research topic<\/a> nowadays because of the pervasiveness of mobile devices and their behavior-tracking capabilities. Building on others\u2019 work, we have found a way to enhance counseling services with mobile technology and big data analytics. It can help students and clinicians alike, by offering a new tool for assessing depression that may shed increased light on a condition that is challenging to study.<\/p>\n

Measuring well-being<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The iSee app\u2019s main screen shows activity trends. Mi Zhang and Jingbo Meng,<\/p><\/div>
\nWe are developing a system for tackling this campus mental health crisis, called iSee<\/a>. When it\u2019s ready to be deployed, students who participate in the program will need to carry a smartphone and a smartwatch. Data collected by those devices are transmitted to, and analyzed by, a computer system. This lets the relatively few counselors keep better track of more students \u2013 extending service to more students in need.<\/p>\n

The smartphone and smartwatch have several built-in sensors:<\/p>\n