Purdue University

Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Partners United for Student Mental Health (PUSMH), in partnership with four community mental health organizations, will offer a comprehensive and complete mental health and substance abuse program of screenings, assessment, treatment and transition back to school for our at-risk students. Purdue University Fort Wayne is located in Northeast Indiana in the center of a mental health shortage area (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). A tobacco- and alcohol-free campus, it serves a student enrollment of over 10,000. PUSMH will serve the entire campus, but with a focus on at-risk students comprised of those identified through the use of a survey instrument developed by the Principal Investigator as well as Military Veterans, members of sexual minority groups (sexual orientation and gender identity and expression), members of Racial and Ethnic minority groups, first generation college students, and non-traditional (e.g., returning adults) students. We are partnering with four (4) community organizations to strengthen linkages with our campus and provide a comprehensive program of screenings for depression, anxiety, and substance use/abuse, referral for more extensive assessment, and referral for treatment, and a plan for re-integrating students into school after treatment. Utilizing the PI and Program Manager plus a Substance Abuse Specialist and treatment providers from our partner organizations, we will offer monthly voluntary screenings (PHQ-9, GAD-7, CAGE) for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse; full mental health and substance abuse assessments and referrals for treatment. Treatment will be conducted by providers from our partner organizations. Students will be tracked through the system from initial screening, through assessment and treatment and return to school, if appropriate. For those students missing significant school due to treatment needs, transition teams will be assembled to help those students re-integrate back into classes and campus life. Data will be collected at each phase to track the student’s progress through the use of self-scoring of the relevant tool (PHQ-9, GAD-7, or CAGE) plus clinical data obtained from the treatment provider. These data will be de-identified and coded to protect confidentiality as per HIPAA, PPA, and OHRP requirements. We propose to serve a minimum of 1000 students per year at varying levels of intervention for 3000 for the life of the funded project. Finally, based on evaluation data, a continuation plan will be developed by the projects Advisory Committee.