JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

College years represent a pivotal phase in students’ lives as they transition into adulthood, a period that is often marked by increased vulnerability to mental health challenges. In addition to the high prevalence of common mental health issues, the large treatment gap exacerbates the overall disease burden. Both supply-side and demand-side factors contribute to this gap. Furthermore, students in higher education frequently experience psychological distress and subthreshold symptoms that affect their well-being and daily functioning. Globally, technology-based mental health solutions have emerged as an important strategy to address unmet mental health needs, with a growing body of evidence supporting their effectiveness across various populations. Research has also been increasingly focused on the role of digital mental health interventions in supporting mental health needs of college students. Against this backdrop, we examine the challenges faced by India’s large higher education system, which serves 4.33 million students, alongside the expanding role of technology within this sector. We explore the potential of leveraging technology-based solutions to enhance student mental health initiatives within higher education institutions.in the background of relevant policies and guidelines that provide an impetus to such endeavours. We discuss the challenges as well as the opportunities for utilization of digital mental health interventions in higher education settings in India and reflect upon strategic actions at institutional and governmental levels. Critical considerations include data governance, safety, transparency, positioning of digital mental health initiatives, content quality safeguards, provision of interventions at varying levels, and recommendations for policy development, governmental support, and research aimed at optimizing the use of technology for student mental health in institutes of higher education in India.