The study led by Associate Professor Kristin Cleverley examines the impact of the service which is a partnership between the University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Research shows that post-secondary students are reporting an increase in mental health related conditions such as anxiety and depression, at nearly double the rate compared to ten years ago.
In 2022, U of T in partnership with the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH), launched the University of Toronto Navigation Service (UTN), an innovative navigator service designed to support students accessing hospital mental health care in returning to their studies with minimal disruption to their care or education.
A recent study led by Kristin Cleverley, Associate Professor at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, evaluated the UTN service over a two-year period. The study found that the service fills an essential gap in providing trauma-informed mental health care for U of T students accessing CAMH acute care services, supporting their safe return to campus following treatment and helping to reduce repeat emergency department visits.
“The U of T Navigator Service is a great example of how U of T is leading in the space of post-secondary student mental health care, and supporting students who find themselves in a complex environment,” says Cleverley, who is also the Director of Inlight, the Student Mental Health Research Initiative, and the Rossy Chair in Campus Mental Health.
“This model of care was intentionally co-designed with post-secondary students as part of an advisory group, a key priority for U of T, to determine core components of the navigator service, including language and consent during intake, promotion of the service, and key aspects of measurement-based care” says Cleverley.
The study was published in Early Intervention in Psychiatry.
Cleverley says that an important finding from the study was a significant reduction in repeat emergency department visits among students who were referred to the UTN service.
“I think that returning to the emergency department is a marker of an unmet need, if we can reduce that through this service, then we are better meeting a student’s acute mental health needs,” says Cleverley.
The UTN service model was adapted from care models used in the child and youth mental health space and tailored to the unique needs of post-secondary students.
Students referred to the UTN service following an emergency department visit are connected with a navigator who has a robust understanding of both CAMH programs and services, and U of T services like Health and Wellness, Same-Day Counselling, and Accessibility Services. This in-depth knowledge helps to ensure smooth transitions within CAMH and back to their studies at U of T.
According to the study, between September 2022 and August 2024, 649 U of T students accessed the emergency department at CAMH. Of these 331 students (51%) were referred to the UTN service which is based at CAMH.. Of those referred, 75% chose to register, indicating a high level of engagement.
The study also found that a significant proportion of students registered identified as female, and that most presented to the emergency department with suicidal ideation as their primary concern. These findings offer useful insights for researchers into who is accessing this service and how to best meet their needs.
Cleverley notes that this study highlights the broader continuum of care available at U of T via its Stepped Model of Care which is led by Christine Bartha, Senior Executive Director, Student Mental Health, Systems Strategy and Policy in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, and includes one-on-one therapy right up to hospital-based support. This model is also being scaled up with hospital partners at U of T Scarborough and U of T Mississauga, with adaptations to reflect to their community contexts.
Moving forward, Cleverley and her team are conducting a CIHR funded longitudinal study to follow students who use the UTN service. The goal is to better understand how the intervention influences their mental health and academic outcomes oer both the short and long term.