Title: Students' mental health literacy practices in the management of chronic mental health conditions
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: By the end of the fellowship, I will have achieved the following aims: 1. I will have produced a series of publications designed to maximise the impact of my thesis with the different key audiences of my work whilst at the same time establishing my track record as a researcher and developing the potential for future research projects. a. Journal article on self-care and creative practices of students with mental health conditions (Intended audience: creative therapy practitioners, student support practitioners, mental health researchers. Planned publication route: Medical Humanities) b. Journal article on conceptual development of mental health literacy (Intended audience: mental health researchers, health literacy researchers, public health practitioners. Planned publication route: Journal of Public Mental Health) c. Journal article on students' experiences with texts in counselling. (Intended audience: higher education counselling and student support practitioners, mental health researchers. Planned publication route: British Journal of Guidance and Counselling) d. Monograph proposal based on thesis, focussing on contribution to literacy research and Literacy Studies. (Intended audience: literacy researchers, education researchers. Planned publication route: Routledge Research In Literacy book series, initial positive reactions to proposal from the series editors) 2. I will have completed further training to expand my research skillset so that I can contribute more effectively to interdisciplinary and participatory work and to enhance my prospects of a future secure academic position. a. Surveys: Practical Survey Design and Web-Based Methods (University of Surrey short course) b. Participatory research: Participatory Research: Achieving Impact (Lancaster FASS RTP module) c. Focus groups: Designing and moderating focus groups (SRA training course) d. Sensitive research: Managing challenging research (SRA training course) e. Future academic position: Course design and quality assurance in higher education (Lancaster FASS RTP module) 3. I will have engaged with academic and non-academic audiences to communicate my thesis findings in order to maximise the impact of those findings and develop wider networks for future research collaborations. a. Workshops based on thesis findings to communicate student experiences. i. support professionals in higher education (AMOSSHE national conference) ii. teaching and professional services staff (training session for Lancaster staff, online resource to share more widely) iii. students and their friends/family (workshop through LUSU and charities working with parents) b. Participation in Student Mental Health Research Network (SMaRteN). i. organize online discussion group on literacy and student mental health ii. present thesis findings to ECR Virtual Lab-group c. Research reports written for non-specialist audiences. i. blog on Lancaster Literacy Research Centre Website ii. article on website with history of publishing work by academics (e.g., The Conversation), aimed at general audience 4. I will have conducted limited further research to explore, confirm, and refine my thesis findings and further develop the research skills learned as part of aim (2). a. Survey designed to see how thesis findings fit with experiences of a wider group of students with mental health conditions. b. Focus groups to discuss thesis findings and the different areas of interest identified in the thesis and the survey.

Lay abstract: The broad aim of my Fellowship would be to maximise the impact of my doctoral thesis work on student mental health. Ensuring maximum impact of my thesis is vital because mental health has been a growing concern in universities in both the UK and globally, as well as in society more generally. As interest in mental health, and how people can best be supported, has grown, the concept of mental health literacy has become a focus for researchers, public health officials, mental health support practitioners, and student support services. My thesis was focussed on the experiences of students with mental health conditions, and particularly how they engaged with different texts and activities involving reading and writing as part of navigating support systems, managing their mental health, and engaging with their studies. In this work, I was able to capture detailed accounts of the students' complex experiences with literacy as part of their mental health. This was possible because of the specific approach to mental health literacy I took, where the focus was on what the students actually did with literacy in real situations, rather than what they should do or a measurement of their knowledge or abilities as done by other researchers. This approach was complemented by the use of innovative methods in the project, with remote video-calling interviews used to find out about the students' experiences. The students' accounts and my analysis showed that mental health literacy played an important role in how students got recognition of their mental health condition from different institutions, how they accessed support and treatment and then participated in that support or treatment and how they cared for and managed their own mental health. Thus, my thesis represented a contribution to how we understand mental health literacy as a concept and how students use mental health literacy practices to successfully cope with mental health conditions whilst at university. My research is of great relevance for academic and non-academic audiences. The Fellowship would allow me to maximise the impact of this work in several ways. Firstly, it would enable me to communicate the findings, both conceptual and practical, to a range of academic audiences through publications aimed at researchers working in disciplines including mental health, public health, counselling, higher education, and applied linguistics, as well as engagement with existing research networks focussed on student mental health. Secondly, it would give me the opportunity to develop a series of workshops based on the key findings and practical implications aimed at different audiences, including student support practitioners in higher education, teaching and professional services staff in academic departments, and friends and family of students with mental health conditions. Finally, it would allow me to write research reports designed for non-specialist audiences to disseminate the findings and implications both within the fields of Literacy Studies and Applied Linguistics and more widely to the general non-academic audience. The Fellowship would also give me the opportunity to expand on the work that was possible during my doctoral study. In this study, I worked with 11 student participants as the intensity of the methods meant a larger number of participants would not have been practical. I plan to make use of the Postdoctoral Fellowship to explore the key findings from my thesis with a larger and more diverse group of students through both a survey and a series of focus groups. This will allow me to confirm and refine the thesis findings. The Fellowship would further provide me with the chance to enhance my research skills through attending relevant training courses and develop a wider interdisciplinary professional network. The development afforded by the Fellowship in both of these areas would help strengthen my profile as an academic with the aim of securing future positions.

Research activity codes: 7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH