Barriers and facilitators of post-pandemic help-seeking for mental health and well-being among undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students: an interview study

COVID-19 has left a lasting impact on global mental health and well-being, with university students among those most affected, highlighting the urgent need for strategies to support post-pandemic welfare. This study identified and compared post-pandemic barriers and facilitators to seeking university and external mental health and well-being support (e.g., counselling, helplines) among undergraduate (UG), postgraduate taught (PGT), and doctoral (PhD) students, and generated recommendations for improving support services.

Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine UG, eight PGT, and three PhD students. Questions were guided by the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation. Thematic analysis was applied for data analysis.

Findings suggested that UG and PGT students’ help-seeking tendencies were largely influenced by perceptual or social factors (e.g., stigma, social support, awareness, knowledge, perceived trustworthiness), whereas PhD students were primarily influenced by service features (e.g., flexibility, accessibility, clarity in information provision). Most participants preferred university over external services due to physical proximity, free access, and familiarity of staff with student-related concerns. External services were preferred when participants had prior positive experiences with them, negative experiences with university support, or when services were unavailable or unknown within the university. Across all study levels, free-of-charge support and coping strategies shifting from avoidant or reactive to more proactive coping were facilitators of post-pandemic help-seeking.

Mental health and well-being support services need to adapt to students’ post-pandemic needs to facilitate help-seeking and protect their welfare. Improvement suggestions are provided in line with the findings.