Summary
MoodCarer is a smartphone application project which targets the mental health issue among university students, as the low usage rate of counselling and mental health service on the campus due to the lack of mental health literacy and the fear of stigmatisation in major. The solution aims to establish the communication between the mental health service (counsellors) on the campus and students in mental concerns, in order to increase student's motivation to approach the service.
Background
Referred to Helen M. Stallman's report in 2010, 83% of Australian university students reported elevated distress levels but only 34.4% of them had consulted a health professional regarding the issue. The reasons include the lack of mental health literacy (students don't know the services) (Furnham, Cook, Martin & Batey 2011) and the fear of stigmatisation (Markoulakis & Kirsh 2013). The project is going to focus on solving these problems to encourage more students to use the service.
Based on the research led by Dianne Wynaden in 2013, the online survey is possible to provide an opportunity to students to know if they need treatment regarding their issue. As the youths in 21 century use the Internet in their daily life, the specifically designed digital environment can be helpful to students to discuss the problem, access the mental health service and keep a healthy connection. (Wynaden, Wichmann & Murray 2013)
The investment on the mental health in the university is beneficial by that it can increase the satisfied and successful rates of students which are crucial in the enrolment of new students. (McGorry, Purcell, Hickie & Jorm, 2007)
The promotion posters for the 'MoodCarer' app are separated to six version by a young man and a young woman's expression of different emotions, which signify the 'Relax', 'Tear' and 'On-Fire' character. The questions above describe the situation which can produce students the specified emotion, then mentions the brand identity and the main slogan 'Always a place for you' at below, telling students that 'MoodCarer' is able to help them to deal with mental health concerns.
