EVALUATION OF THE NETWORK
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What are you evaluating?Over the past year the Network has been active, we have been evaluating student's experiences and reactions to the Student Mental Health Network. We want to know who is using the Network, how they are using it, and what they are finding to be most helpful (and most unhelpful!)
In September 2023, we will be launching the summative evaluation survey, and would love for you to take part! Check back for more information closer to the survey launch date! |
What are the results so far?A report detailing the progress so far is avialable below.This purpose of this report is to present the results of a formative, process evaluation of the Network after approximately one year of operation. The key objectives of this formative evaluation were as follows:
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WHAT'S THE SURVEY ABOUT?
TBD for summative eval
Demographics
These questions will help us to understand who is accessing the Network.
User Experience
These questions will help us to understand what content people are finding helpful/unhelpful, and identify opportunities for improvement
Mental Health Check
These questions will help us to further understand who is accessing the Network in terms of mental health status - are students more likely to access the Network during times of high stress/psychological distress? Or are we only capturing students with low levels of stress?
Contact Info
The final few questions will ask if you'd like us to stay in touch with you or not. If you do choose to provide us with your email, this will be kept separate from all your other responses, so you're data is still anonymous.
Demographics
These questions will help us to understand who is accessing the Network.
User Experience
These questions will help us to understand what content people are finding helpful/unhelpful, and identify opportunities for improvement
Mental Health Check
These questions will help us to further understand who is accessing the Network in terms of mental health status - are students more likely to access the Network during times of high stress/psychological distress? Or are we only capturing students with low levels of stress?
Contact Info
The final few questions will ask if you'd like us to stay in touch with you or not. If you do choose to provide us with your email, this will be kept separate from all your other responses, so you're data is still anonymous.
WHAT ARE YOU EVALUATING?
Ultimately, what we want to know is whether the Student Mental Health Network is doing what we hoped it would do: 1) improving mental health literacy, 2) promoting improved social support networks, and 3) increasing awareness around available mental health resources. We want to know whether this space is truly providing students with what they need to feel empowered to promote and maintain their mental health and well-being over the course of their educational career and beyond.
Fig. 1 - Simple Logic Model for Network Evaluation
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Figure 1 depicts a logic model for the evaluation, showing how we think this might work. Our evaluation will tell us whether or not these outcomes are being met, and whether we are missing anything. We can then move forward with filling those gaps and improving the Network year over year, based on evidence provided by students like you! Importantly, our comprehensive evaluation will be split into two separate phases: a more preliminary, "process" evaluation during the first year of the Network's operation (2022-2023), and a more in-depth impact assessment, which will begin Sept '23. |
If you'd like to learn more about our exact methodology for our comprehensive evaluation of the Network, we have submitted a manuscript for consideration to JMIR Research Protocols. You can access the pre-print (not yet published) version here, which is subject to change following peer review.
| Network Evaluation Protocol (PRE-PRINT) |
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE SURVEY RESPONSES?
Our plan is to analyze survey responses to this first survey after six months, and again after one year. We will then release a report, which will be made publicly available on the Network website showing the results of the evaluation - even if they aren't "good"! We are committed to sharing our results, regardless of outcome.
As our evaluation will be ongoing for years to come, the Studnet Mental Health Network team will publicly release an annual technical report every year, sharing the most recent evaluation findings.
As our evaluation will be ongoing for years to come, the Studnet Mental Health Network team will publicly release an annual technical report every year, sharing the most recent evaluation findings.
