Katherine Sainsbury a PhD student at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, is one of the first nursing students to receive an Inlight Research Fellowship from Inlight Student Mental Health Research, a U of T institutional strategic initiative committed to improving student mental health and wellness outcomes.
Sainsbury joins a cohort of fourteen other students from across the University who will take part in a training program, in addition to receiving funding support for their graduate work, to develop their knowledge and research skills related to post-secondary student mental health and well being.
“I’m very excited about being chosen as a Fellow, and am really looking forward to working with other students, faculty, and staff who are passionate about post-secondary student mental health research.” says Sainsbury. “It is engaging and energizing to be part of a group working towards improving mental health and well-being on campus.”
Supervised by Associate Professor Kristin Cleverley, Director of Inlight and the Rossy Chair in Campus Mental Health, Sainsbury’s doctoral research explores the experiences of post-secondary students accessing in-patient mental health services. The goal of her research is to find ways to improve care pathways between post-secondary institutions and acute mental health services, especially for students transitioning from inpatient psychiatric care back into the community.
Having previously worked in a crisis and critical care unit at CAMH as a registered nurse, Sainsbury was inspired to pursue her research by her experiences caring for patients—many of whom were post-secondary students and young adults in mental health crisis—struggling to balance their academic responsibilities while seeking care.
“I saw an unnecessary struggle for these acutely ill students. They often did not know who to turn to for support with classes and assignments, and there seemed to be little communication between the hospital and their post-secondary schools.” says Sainsbury.
Her hope is that by examining the entirety of the acute mental health care transition cycle—from school to presentation to the emergency department, through inpatient care and reintegration back into the community—she can identify those students at heightened risk and develop more effective supports for these populations.
A key component of Inlight’s research mandate is the focus on student engagement as part of the research process, for Sainsbury, this will include partnering with post-secondary students with lived experience of inpatient psychiatric care.
“The qualitative aspect of my research will involve interviews with students to explore their firsthand experiences accessing inpatient care,” says Sainsbury. “I will be asking about each stage of their ‘care journey’ and about the supports they felt they had—or lacked—throughout. I will also engage a student advisory group to co-design these interviews, ensuring they are reflective of the experiences, perspectives, and language of these post-secondary students.”
Learn more about the Inlight Research Fellowships and Inlight Student Mental Health Research.