University Student Mental Health & Wellbeing

Working with Nurture-U in collaboration with researchers across the UK and Canada to investigate well-being and mental health outcomes in students using a biannual longitudinal survey

Background:

Nurture-U is a national UK research project designed to find better ways to support university students with their wellbeing and mental health.

Objective:

The primary aim of this project is to collaborate with UK Higher Education Institutions, including University of Exeter, University of Oxford, Cardiff University, King's College London, Newcastle University, and University of Southampton, to better understand the determinants of student wellbeing and academic success, evaluate students’ mental health support needs, as well as develop and deliver university specific mental health programs.

The scope of this project includes (a) designing and implementing mental health literacy trainings for students and staff; (b) developing an online self-management toolkit; and (c) continued deployment of a longitudinal survey of student mental health and well-being conducted biannually at Oxford since 2019.

Funding:

This project is funded by the Medical Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Economic and Social Research Council.

Research Output:

Marshall, E., Duffy, A. C., Chamberlain, S. R., Dooley, J., Dorey, L., Forty, L., Matlock, K. A., Newbold, A., Quinn, A., Rees, S., Robinson, L. J., Saunders, K. E., & Watkins, E. R. (2025). Nurture-U student mental health longitudinal survey: A study protocol. BMJ Open, 15(2), Article e098413. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098413

Matlock, K. A. (2024, October 23). Collaborative breadth and depth: Lessons from a national research project on university student wellbeing [Conference presentation]. Speaking Across Lines: An ECR Symposium on Diverse Ways of Collaborative Working in Interdisciplinary Adolescent Mental Health Research, London, UK.

Matlock, K. A. (2024, June 10-12). Mental health profiles among university students who seek peer support [Conference presentation]. SMaRteN Student Mental Health Conference, London, UK. https://www.smarten.org.uk

Matlock, K. A. & Saunders, K. (2023, October 6). Trends in student mental health: Results from the U-Flourish Survey [Conference presentation]. Knowledge Exchange Forum: Evaluating The Impact Of Diverse Students’ Experiences on Their Learning at Oxford, Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. https://www.ctl.ox.ac.uk/programme