A critical analysis of pathway to mental health care in Low Middle-Income Countries: An overview of Mental Healthcare Pathways and its utility in support provision for educational institutions

Abstract

College experiences are complex and are often filled with diverse and unique stressors that can impact the mental health of students. Young people are at risk for developing a range of mental illnesses due to their complex experiences and difficulties finding appropriate pathways for care. Care pathways are existing pathways to care which individuals use to reach a certain modality of care. In healthcare these pathways tend to be organized and help achieve optimal care provision for patients. The current chapter attempts to provide an overview of existing care pathways for mental illnesses in LMICs and adapt the same for the purpose of organizing care in educational institutions. The authors conducted a comprehensive literature review focusing on care pathways in LMICS and its utility for educational institutions. A total of 127 studies focusing on mental health of college students using Rayyan. A comprehensive inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to screen the articles. 50 studies were included based on the inclusion and exclusion criterias and a data extraction sheet was used for the purpose of study appraisal. In the chapter, the authors proposed a methodical model of a mental health care pathway designed specifically for educational settings and highlight how it can be used for enhancing mental health outcomes of college students.