Running head: DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN

Depression Campaign

Bryant University- Advanced Health Communication

Professor Volkman

Veronica Watkins

May 12, 2016

 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 2

For my health campaign. I chose the topic of depression. I personally feel connected to

this problem because it is a mental illness that many college students suffer from. I am one of

those students. I never suffered from depression while in college but I know how easy it is to slip

into one. The actions of others and the environment surrounding a person take a huge toll on

their life. Depression is a health disparity on college campus throughout the country. The

severity of this mental disease is not always known, especially by students. Some universities

offer counseling services or places where students can reach out talk to someone. However such

places are not always used to their full potential. Making students aware of the severity,

susceptibility, and signs/signals of depression can help to save lives on college campuses.

The importance of this issue goes beyond Bryant University. Depression leads to

hundreds of deaths for students on college campuses throughout the country. It is important for

signs of depression to be known, this way if someone is concerned about their friend or

roommate at school they will know what to be aware of. There are multiple things to look out

for, and many factors that contribute to depression. Stress is a major cause of depression. College

students are overwhelmed moving from the transition of high school to being away from home

with more work and responsibilities than they have ever seen. Since there are so many factors

adding up to the causes of depression it can be difficult to tell what is normal stress and moderate

anxiety versus a serious depression. Women are also more likely to become depressed than men.

According to Nestler et al. (2002), depression is seen twice as often in females as it is in males

and 40 to 50 percent of the risk of developing depression is due to genetics.

Treatment for depression can vary. Different options work for certain people, it can be

hard to compare stories because everyone can react in a specific way. The severity of the

depression is a factor in determining the treatment type. Treatments for depression include
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 3

talking to a professional through therapy sessions, taking antidepressant medications, and

electroconvulsive seizures. Therapeutic treatment may be more appropriate for mild forms of

depression, whereas antidepressants and electroconvulsive therapy are better suited for major

depression. Medication is typically only prescribed if the diseases is more on the severe side.

Electroconvulsive therapy is the use of electric shock to cause patients to have a seizure, and it is

known to ultimately relieve the patient from mental illness, such as depression. Depression can

recur multiple times throughout an individuals lifetime and can lead to very serious

consequences, such as suicide, if not recognized and treated soon enough.

For our campaign we chose to use the Health Belief Model as our guidelines. Two of the

most important aspects that we wanted to highlight in our campaign were perceived

susceptibility and severity. The Health Belief Model revolves around the basic assumption that

people will take a recommended action if they believe that they are capable of doing so and that

the action will provide positive results and avoid negative conditions. The model identifies five

components that are required to determine the likelihood of change: perceived susceptibility,

perceived severity, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and cues to action. We wanted college

students to understand how anyone can become depressed, no matter who they are. Depression

can impact anyones life with no exceptions, susceptibility should be more commonly known by

students living on college campuses. Severity is a key component to our campaign because

depression can lead to suicides. College students especially can become suicidal as a result of

not properly treating a depression. In order to raise awareness of depression on college

campuses, it is important to show people how severe depression can be and how susceptible

college students are to becoming depressed. Reducing the perceived barriers by educating the

public about depression and making college students aware of the services their campus offers
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 4

can help raise awareness. We need to show college students how much they can benefit from

learning about depression and from getting help through the services Bryant offers. Our health

campaign will create cues to action that will get students thinking about the health issue and

convince them to take action.

The severity of this mental illness, is something a majority of college students are

unaware of. Knowing what to look for a how serious the effects of depression are is important. If

a student feels they know someone who is moving towards depression, they can potentially save

a life by getting help to those in need. Millions of individuals around the world suffer from this

disease. The severity of mental illness is not always taken as seriously as a physical disease.

Individuals commonly fail see depression on a person as they walk by, it is not always visible

from the outside. This doesnt mean that it is not severe when in result, it can potentially lead to

death. Many misconceptions about the disorder and people tend to undermine the significance of

depression. According to Nestler et al. (2002), severe forms of depression affect 2%-5% of the

U.S. population, and up to 20% of the population suffer from milder forms of the illness. The

severity of depression varies by person, and there are many different forms of depression that an

individual can encounter. The most severe form of depression is major depression, with

symptoms ranging from depressed mood; irritability; low self-esteem; feelings of hopelessness,

worthlessness, and guilt; decreased ability to concentrate and think; decreased or increased

appetite; weight loss or weight gain, and many more (Nestler et al., 2002). It is apparent by the

wide range of criteria for major depression that it is hard to diagnose, and many people who

suffer from the mental disorder are unaware that they even have it. A milder form of depression

is called dysthymia. Other types of depression include melancholic, reactive, psychotic, atypical,

and post-partum depression (Nestler et al., 2002).

 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 5

Depression effects people all across the globe. We wanted to educated college students of

the warning signs and severity because it effects people from their generation. Students at

univerisites are surrounded by stresses that are huge causes of depression. Combined with

activities, clubs, sports, schoolwork, social life and living away from home students (especially

freshman) struggle to find a healthy balance. Depression on college campus is way more

common than students think. We want students to understand that it is okay to say something,

and they are not alone. Depression is estimated to affect nearly 50% of the college student

population (DeRoma, Leach, & Leverett, 2009). College students are highly prone to develop

depression as a result of the highly stressful situations that college life puts them in. As

mentioned previously, stress is one of the leading causes of depression. According to Voelker

(2004), the combination of stress, substance abuse, and lack of sleep is positively correlated with

depression among college students. Through studies done on this topic, researchers found that

stress and depression activate the same parts of the brain and cause very similar reactions

(Voelker, 2004). This relationship between academic performance and depression is a cyclical

process. The stress from academic pressure and college life in general intensify the signs related

to depression, and a depressed state of mind increased the pressure of academics and college life.

Since Britany and I attend Bryant University, we focused our research on the students

surrounding us. We conducted a survey for twenty students asking about their previous

knowledge of depression, as well as their own personal experiences. The survey consisted of 18

questions. They were all related to depression. Asking students if they have ever been depressed

themselves, or known of a close friends who has suffered. We then asked about if they have ever

used services on campus to help them or if they have ever been diagnosed by a doctor and or

professional. The results we found were surprising. 95% of the students who answered said they
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 6

know someone who has suffered from depression in their life. 55% said they has suffered from

some type of depression themselves at some point in their life, however only 13.3% of those

students had actually been diagnosed by a doctor or seen someone to help them recover. We

asked students what they thought the warning signs of depression were, the majority answered;

frequent sleeping, tiredness, and sadness. When asked how many college students suffer from

depression on their campus, the majority answered 50%. This survey helped us know what the

areas to focus on during our campaign. We felt the main problem to address was the amount of

people seeking help. Less than half of the students who answered yes to feeling depressed in

the past. We felt that was too low of a number. Students should use the services that are so easily

available to them. They have no clue how helpful it can be because they simply do not try.

Admitting to needing help is very difficult for a lot of students, especially boys. Fear of

embarrassment or someone knowing something is wrong is a huge obstacle to overcome. Picking

up the phone and asking for help is difficult for a large amount of students. When creating out

campaign with took this factor into consideration. We wanted it to be easy for students to make

an appointment at cousneling services, or to even just reach out and talk to anyone. One part of

our campaign is a website that can help this process be less difficult. The main attraction of a

website is a message board and health services link. The message board allows students to share

their stories about depression. They can explain what they have been through and then other

students will be able to comment giving advice or inspirational remarks. This will make students

get rid of that emotion of feeling alone. Having students understand that other people similar to

them have been through depression and overcame it can help them feel more comfortable to talk

about their own personal stories. Relating to someone else can make students understand how

common depression can be on college campuses. This message board will be on our website, in
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 7

which a link will be on the health services tab of the myBryant website. Making this link easy to

find, will make students more likely to go on our website. The website also has a feature that we

feel taps into one of the other main problems students have when it comes to dealing with their

depression. It allows you to make an appointment online for counseling services. There is a tab

that pulls up a calendar and will allow students to book a date and time to meet with someone

about handling their illness and seeking help. Many students feel the hardest part about dealing

with depression is admitting it. That is the first step towards getting mentally healthy. Picking up

the phone and admitting to someone that you have a problem is extremely difficult for most

college kids. Having this feature on our website allows students to just book an appointment in

their dorm without verbally saying they need help. It may sound silly, but saying something out

loud rather than in typing can be a lot harder.

Another part of our campaign was an Instagram account we created. The name of the

account was goodmorningquotes this account sent out an inspirational every day. Each one is

different. The cool thing about this account that differs from most is that the captions of the

pictures are stories about people who have overcome depression. This aids in the feeling of not

being alone. If students follow this account they can read a new story every morning than can

inspire them to get better and reach out to someone. The sense of relate ability allows people to

feel that they can also overcome depression. On the discussion board of our website there is box

that you can check off the share my story this is giving permission for us to post their story as

a caption for one of our pictures. If students at Bryant feel comfortable enough to publish their

recovery process and personal stories, they can help others feel related to peers on campus who

have struggled in the same way they did. If students on campus start to follow this account and
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 8

read the new stories every day it can help those in need and drive them to get better. Something

as simple as this can go a long way.

The website and Instagram page were not what we initially planned on doing for our

campaign. During the pre-testing phase of our health campaign on depression, we took all of the

relevant information we learned about depression through our research and important findings

from our survey in order to construct ideas for our campaign. We then took our ideas and

presented them to a group of judges in order to receive advice from experienced professionals

and improve our health campaign before we begin creating it. The judges feedback helped us

see our strong and weak points and provided us with ways we can make our campaign more

successful. We at first thought that it would be better to create an instant messaging system for

students to use if they did not feel comfortable speaking over the phone. Once we presented the

idea to other faculty they said maybe a hotline would be a better idea. They commented on our

idea of an anonymous instant messenger and said a hotline may be more useful. We found that

all of the judges advice was very helpful, however we decided to focus on a couple of points

they made and make changes to our campaign based off of these. We didnt think that students

would really use a hotline because in our generation (who we are trying to reach) everything is

social media based. A discussion board was a perfect compromise. This gives a social media

aspect because it allows people to reach a bigger audience and get advice from people their age

with similar problems. They can then feel connected with the Bryant community as a whole.

Sharing these post on Instagram will just help to reach more people and lead them to our website.

We took what the judges during our pretesting stage into consideration. Another addition

to our website was a section that had outside help. Some students during our survey had gone to

counseling at Bryant but did not find it helpful. We provided a section out the site that has
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 9

national hotlines as well as anonymous messaging systems. This way we included the hotline

aspect that was suggested by the judges but not making the main focus of our campaign. We felt

it was a valid idea and can be useful, therefore we put several national hotlines that students can

use if they personally like talking over the phone. We felt this was a good solution to both using

our ideas and the judges advice.

During our final presentation we explained the goals of our campaign as well as our

social media/website aspects to help raise awareness. Students who we presented to love the

entire website idea. Having all the information about depression in once place made it simple for

them to become informed about facts and warning signs of the illness. Other tabs include types

of depression and how to help a friend in need. The appointment making feature and discussion

board were also very popular. Students said they would 100% use them if they thought they were

suffering. They seemed extremely enthusiastic about our site and enjoyed how everything was in

one place. The majority of students said they would follow our Instagram account as well. They

explained how even if they are not suffering from depression they think it can just be a great way

to start the day. Inspiring people every morning can help prevent people from becoming

depressed as well.

If this campaign was to actually be funded and run through campus I believe it would be

successful. During the final presentation I could see how interested students were about the

website. Many asked us if there was a way in which would could actually get it running. The

appointment system was one of the things they mentioned frequently. They said they could see

people feeling much safer in their room making an appointment than having to schedule it in the

office or calling on the phone. The message board linked with the Instagram as well was a huge
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 10

hit. Students told us they would follow and use the message board frequently if they were

suffering with any sort of depression.

 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 11

References

University of Michigan Depression Center. (2016). Peer-To-Peer Depression Awareness

Campaign. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from
http://www.depressioncenter.org/education-outreach/programs/schools/aaps/peer-to-peer/

Malmon, A. (2015). Active Minds. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from

http://www.activeminds.org/

Life Continued. (2015). Be Part of Love is Louder, MTV & SoulPancakes Life Continued
Campaign. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from
http://www.loveislouder.com/lifecontinued/

Jorm, A. F., Korten, A. E., Jacomb, P. A., Christensen, H., Rodgers, B., & Pollitt, P. (1997).
Mental health literacy. a survey of the publics ability to recognise mental disorders and
their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Med J Aust, 166(4), 182-186.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Depression and College Students: A program planning guide.
deltasigmatheta.org.
Unigo. College Depression: the warning signs you need to know. (2015, June 30). Unigo.com

DeRoma, V. M., Leach, J. B., & Leverett, J. P. (2009). The Relationship between Depression
and College Academic Performance. College Student Journal, 43(2), 325-334. Retrieved
February 22, 2016.

Nestler, E. J., Barrot, M., Dileone, R. J., Eisch, A. J., Gold, S. J., & Monteggia, L. M. (2002).
Neurobiology of Depression. Neuron, 34(1), 13-25. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

Voelker, R. (2004). Stress, Sleep Loss, and Substance Abuse Create Potent Recipe for College
Depression. Jama, 291(18), 2177. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 12

Appendix

Health Campaign Survey

1. Do you know of anyone that has suffered or is suffering from depression?
a. Yes
b. No
2. What symptoms do you associate with depression?
3. Based off of your experience and knowledge of depression, what percentage of
college students would you estimate are affected by depression?
a. 0-15%
b. 20-45%
c. 50%
d. 60-80%
e. 85-100%
4. Do you believe that enough awareness is being raised for depression?
a. Yes
b. No
5. Do you have any suggestions for what could be done to help this issue?
6. Have you ever been depressed before?
a. Yes
b. No- skip to Question 10
c. I dont know
7. Have you ever been diagnosed with depression by a doctor?
a. Yes
b. No
8. What signs of depression did you experience?
9. What do you think was the cause of your depression?
10. Do you know of any services Bryant offers that help with problems such as
depression? If yes, please list them:
11. Have you ever used such services?
a. Yes
b. No- skip to Question 14
12. Please rate your experience with the service used:
a. 1- poor experience
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5- great experience
13. Please explain your rating from above:
14. Which class are you?
a. Freshman
b. Sophomore
c. Junior
d. Senior
15. How old are you?
 DEPRESSION CAMPAIGN 13

a. 18-20
b. 21-23
c. 24-26
d. 27+
16. Male or Female?
a. Male
b. Female
17. Have you had a job/internship while in college?
a. Yes
b. No
18. Please list all clubs and organizations that you have been involved in while in
college: