WOLSTENHOLME, Claire and SEN, Jozef (2023). Minority ethnic male university students’ perceptions of and preferences for mental health and wellbeing support services at Sheffield Hallam University. [STEER Evaluation Collection]

Preview	PDF Wolstenholme_2023_Minority_ethnic_male_university_students.pdf - Published Version Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview
	Microsoft Word Wostenholme_2023_Minority_ethnic_male_university_students.docx - Published Version Creative Commons Attribution. Download (80kB)

Abstract

University support services are often underutilised by ethnic minority male students. This research aimed to identify the perceptions of ethnic minority male students around using university mental health support services, including the barriers and facilitators to utilisation. The project used Listening Rooms for data collection, whereby participants pair up and undertake a recorded conversation based around talking points pertaining to the project. Fourteen pairs (n=28) participated in conversations. A round table analysis of the data took place, followed by further thematic analysis on the transcripts using Nvivo. Participants overall appeared to be positive about and grateful for, the existence of a mental health support service, despite a mixed level of awareness of its existence and differing conceptualizations of what mental health means. Barriers to service utilisation could be split into institutional and sociocultural. Institutional barriers included a perceived lack of cultural and ethnic representation amongst practitioners, as well as bureaucratic factors such as access difficulties, whereas sociocultural barriers pertained to cultural taboos and fear of judgement. As university intakes become ever more diverse, university support services must adapt to meet the needs of their populations. Findings support the need for a more representative staffing of services which would engender confidence in ethnic minority male students. Working to further raise awareness levels of the service as well as explaining how, when and why one might access the service would also be beneficial to those who do seek support.

Item Type:	STEER Evaluation Collection
Type of evaluation evidence:	Exploratory: Evidence of a specific topic that could be used to design an intervention.
Stage of the Student Lifecycle:	Stage of the Student Lifecycle Success (e.g. retention and attainment)
Departments, Directorates and Groups:	Groups and Services > Student Experience, Teaching and Learning Groups and Services > Student and Academic Services
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Mental health, male, student, university, ethnic minority, male, wellbeing, support services.
Depositing User:	Ashleigh Weir
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2024 15:42
Last Modified:	24 Jan 2024 11:14
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/33011

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads

Publication Metrics