An NP-led integrated care program (ICP) for mental health at a rural university showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety severity among students.

The nine-month quality-improvement program was designed to address a concern that access to mental health care was a particular challenge for students in a rural setting.

Sixty-one students participated in the program, which used questionnaires as screening tools to assess for depression and anxiety severity. Using grant funding, a  behavioral health provider was hired for the team to facilitate same-day handoffs from APRNs or RNs. The full team consisted of two FNP-APRNs, a psychiatric and mental health NP, the Student Health Clinic director and the University Counseling Center Associate Director.

“Overall, the ICP effectively provided a systematic way of identifying and treating university students,” the authors wrote an article published in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. “The ICP continues to meet and identify ways to improve the program and expand efforts beyond the university setting to connect students to care within the community. This program, supported by grant funding, was able to effectively reduce rates of depression and anxiety among college-aged students.”