Monday, June 26, 2017

President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health up and running

The President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health (PAC-SMH) has been established, with terms of reference and committee membership finalized earlier this spring.

President Feridun Hamdullahpur announced the creation of the advisory committee in March 2017.

The PAC-SMH is tasked with “ensuring the collection of a broad set of information on student mental health considering both the UW student body and the larger societal context. It will review the data and information collected and advise on the status of the progress of mental health initiatives across the university. It will examine root causes of student stress, anxiety and depression, and how to mitigate them proactively instead of reactively.”    

The Committee’s terms of reference are available on the PAC-SMH website.

Director of Campus Wellness Walter Mittelstaedt chairs the PAC-SMH, with additional members drawn from a number of campus stakeholder groups, including:

• Beth Keleher – Graduate Student, Psychology
• Alex Piticco – Director, Student Development and Residence Life, Housing and Residences
• Chris Read – Associate Provost, Students
• James Rush – Dean, Applied Health Studies
• Nikki St. Clair – Undergraduate Student, Political Science
• Paul Ward – Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Antonio Brieva - Federation of Students Representative
• Vanessa Lam - Graduate Students Association Representative

The PAC-SMH will be assisted by five supporting topical expert panels, and will provide mandate questions to these panels for exploration and discussion. In turn, the panels will help provide the information the PAC-SMH needs in order to compile its final report. The supporting panels include:

• Mental Health Experts
• Student Services
• Community Partners
• Academics
• Student Experience

The PAC-SMH held its first meeting on May 24 and will be meeting biweekly until December 2017.

The committee has focused its early activities on orienting its members to the committee’s mandate, reviewing existing campus mental health data, including the results of the 2012 Student Mental Health Review, and planning the mandate for the PAC-SMH’s supporting panel groups. The committee has also hired a project coordinator to assist with the compilation and analysis of this information, and work with the PAC-SMH throughout its mandate, beginning on a part-time basis.

The PAC-SMH will provide updates on what they hear, learn and recommend in two stages, with a full report due in the fall of 2017.

Applications open for mental health supporting panel groups

A message from the President's Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health.

The President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health (PAC-SMH) has been meeting since May and they are pleased to announce they are ready to start recruiting for representatives on our five supporting panels. The panels include: Student Experience, Student Services, Community Partners, Academic, and Mental Health Experts. Each panel will help to gather information in their topic area to help the PAC-SMH deliver their final report.

If you are interested in applying to participate in one of the topic panels, please go to the PAC-SMH website and find out more about the role and time commitments involved. If you would like to apply, you can fill out the application webform.

Applications are due by Wednesday, July 5.

Ontarians still skeptical of the flu shot, study finds

Half of all people who avoid the flu shot do so because they question its importance and effectiveness, a new study reports.

The study reviewed Ontario health data from 2013/14, where only 34 per cent of people went to get the seasonal flu shot despite universal coverage in the province.

“Our research suggests that the majority of people who do not get the flu shot have concerns regarding vaccine effectiveness, or a belief that they have a strong immune system and won’t be affected by the flu,” said Samantha Meyer, a professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems and the study’s lead author.

The study also found that people avoided flu shots for moral and religious reasons, as well as poor vaccine experiences in the past.

“Unfortunately, many of the responses we heard from participants regarding why they do not get vaccinated were indicative of a very individually focused understanding of the importance of the seasonal influenza vaccine,” said Meyer.

While the degree of protection offered by the flu shot varies each year based on how well the predicted strain matches the actual strain, influenza rates have decreased significantly since the Government of Ontario introduced the Universal Influenza Immunization Program (UIIP) in 2000.

The program, which provides the flu shot free of charge for all individuals over 6 months, has reduced flu cases by 61 per cent and saved $7.8 million in related health-care costs.

“It’s important to look at the health of the population and to recognize the critical role that healthy individuals can play in reducing the risk for the population,” said Meyer. “This is particularly important for vulnerable groups more likely to suffer complications from the flu, including pneumonia, inflammation of the heart and brain, sepsis, and even death.”

In order to provide population-wide immunity from the flu, 80 per cent of healthy individuals and 90 per cent of at-risk individuals would need to get the shot.

Each year, between 10 to 12 per cent of Canadians contract the flu. The illness is responsible for more than 12,000 hospital visits and 3500 deaths.

The study was recently published in the Journal of Health Communication.

Survey seeks information on accessibility barriers

As part of the development of a new accessibility standard in the delivery of education, the Government of Ontario has created a survey to gather feedback from those who may have faced barriers or encountered success in achieving an accessible education.

The Government of Ontario is inviting members of the University community to participate in their survey to share their thoughts on proposed areas of focus for a new accessibility standard for education under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The survey will ask you to share the barriers that you, or others, have faced to achieving an accessible education, as well as success stories you have witnessed. Should you decide to participate, your feedback will help the Government of Ontario determine the scope of the standard and the mandate of a Standards Development Committee working on new accessibility standards for education in Ontario.

The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Your participation in the survey is voluntary and you may withdraw at any time by leaving questions blank. Participation in the survey will not affect your relationship with the University of Waterloo or with the Ministry. Identifying information will remain confidential as per the Government of Ontario's Privacy Policy.

The survey is available until July 14 in English and French.

The University is providing information about the survey to the campus community, however all survey data, reports and results will be provided directly to and by Ontario's government.