%0 Journal Article
%@ 2368-7959
%I JMIR Publications Inc.
%V 2
%N 1
%P e2
%T A Virtual Mental Health Clinic for University Students: A Qualitative Study of End-User Service Needs and Priorities
%A Farrer,Louise
%A Gulliver,Amelia
%A Chan,Jade KY
%A Bennett,Kylie
%A Griffiths,Kathleen M
%+ National Institute for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, 63 Eggleston Road, Acton, 2601, Australia, 61 02 6125 8859, louise.farrer@anu.edu.au
%K university
%K student
%K mental health
%K online
%K qualitative
%D 2015
%7 11.02.2015
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Mental Health
%G English
%X Background: Help seeking for mental health problems among university students is low, and Internet-based interventions such as virtual clinics have the potential to provide private, streamlined, and high quality care to this vulnerable group. Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct focus groups with university students to obtain input on potential functions and features of a university-specific virtual clinic for mental health. Methods: Participants were 19 undergraduate students from an Australian university between 19 and 24 years of age. Focus group discussion was structured by questions that addressed the following topics: (1) the utility and acceptability of a virtual mental health clinic for students, and (2) potential features of a virtual mental health clinic. Results: Participants viewed the concept of a virtual clinic for university students favorably, despite expressing concerns about privacy of personal information. Participants expressed a desire to connect with professionals through the virtual clinic, for the clinic to provide information tailored to issues faced by students, and for the clinic to enable peer-to-peer interaction. Conclusions: Overall, results of the study suggest the potential for virtual clinics to play a positive role in providing students with access to mental health support. 
%M 26543908
%R 10.2196/mental.3890
%U http://mental.jmir.org/2015/1/e2/
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/mental.3890
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26543908