HealthDay speaks with Dr. Nicole Brady, CMO of UnitedHealthcare Student Resources, about the surprising results of their new Behavioral Health Report on college students and recent graduates.
Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay
So, it's back to school season, which is always a stressful time for all of us. We're really pleased today to be joined by Dr. Nicole Brady, the Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare, who has agreed to share with us some of the really fascinating results from the third annual college and graduate behavioral health study that was just recently published. Thank you very much for joining us.
Nicole Brady, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
Thanks for having me.
Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay
So, this year’s report had noted that self-reported mental and behavioral health concerns among students had dropped from what had been close to 70 % for about two years in a row down to about 60 % this last year, which seems to be a fairly sizable drop.
Nicole Brady, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
I think a lot of it that's driving it is just the fact that in this age group there's less stigma around mental health. So, we see this age group in particular more apt to talk about their issues, seek treatment, be comfortable with seeing a therapist or other providers.
Though the mental health numbers have improved, there's still a significant amount of severe mental illness and eating disorder in this age group. So, we can't let our guard down yet.
Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay
Another interesting finding in the report — it mentioned that when asked to describe changes in their own current mental and behavioral health since high school, one in five of the students reported that their health had declined. Whereas when their parents were asked, it was one in 10 only. So roughly twice, twice the number.
Nicole Brady, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
Our children are reporting more mental health concerns than us parents think are going on. So, I think this, to me, really opened the door for continued conversation.
Checking in on them and giving them a sense, even if they're not struggling now, that if they do become or develop issues that you're a safe person to come to, that there's no judgment, that they can come and bring their problems and concerns to you.
Do they have a good network at school? Do they have trusted adults? Do they have friends? Do they know where to seek help if they need help? If they're not going to come to you, where are they going to go?
Do they know how to access their insurance benefits? Do they know how to access the school's student health center if they have one? So having those conversations, especially upfront before they struggle, can be really beneficial.
Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay
I shared the studies with my daughter who just graduated from college. So, she's entering the next phase. And when I shared it with her, I asked what did you think was the most interesting finding in the report?
And not surprisingly, it was the data that talked about how students are twice as likely to seek the advice of someone close to them…. whereas parents were twice as likely to expect that their children would be listening to them as opposed to some other source.
Nicole Brady, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
I agree that was one of my most surprising findings in this study, as well…that kids are relying more on their peers than they are on trusted adults. And in particular to seek treatment. They're more likely to seek treatment based on the advice of a peer than on a trusted adult. And I think that gets back to really helping your own kids understand what are the resources available and if they see somebody else struggle, what do they do? What can they do? How can they get help for that other person. We certainly don't want another peer to be a burden on your own child if your child can help them get help.
Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay
Another interesting finding in the research was when comparing the options of first of all, seeing someone on a regular basis versus ad hoc and in-person versus virtual, that it seemed that there was a preference for ad hoc in-person. And that surprised me.
Nicole Brady, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
What surprised me about the study is that there was no majority winner. That really the wants, the needs, the preferences of this age group can be as variable as even in a grown adult age group. Some really like in-person, some like virtual, but not everybody likes virtual. Where, in this age group, I thought that would be a winner across the board.
So, everybody has to figure out the healthcare journey that fits best with them. And we have to make sure that they have insurance coverage that will follow them along in that journey.
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