Anna Kaplan
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Kathleen Ignatoski
Research Mentor School/College/Department: University of Michigan / Medicine
Program: UROP
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors: Anna Kaplan, Sydney Lauer, Kathleen Ignatoski
Abstract
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest that occurred in response to racially motivated killings in 2021, the mental health needs of university communities skyrocketed. The University of Michigan houses a plethora of mental health and well-being resources for students, staff, and faculty to utilize, which can make it difficult for individuals to find the tools best suited to their needs. In an effort to simplify the process of accessing mental health resources, the University’s Voices of the Staff team proposed the creation of a smartphone app. Our app, entitled HealingU, will make the process of locating, learning about, and accessing wellness resources simple for all members of the University of Michigan community. Creation of the app began by collecting and categorizing information about existing resources based on who it helps and what issues it targets to form an organized tool database. Guided by this information, our team of UX designers focused on creating the app’s user interface, developing multiple iterations in Figma. The primary feature of the app is a mental health screening which will show users resources that have been selected for them based on the information they provide. Although HealingU has not been launched yet, we expect this app to transform how the University of Michigan addresses mental health. This app has the potential to build proactive approaches to mental health emergencies and positively change the narrative surrounding well-being needs, ameliorating existing gaps in the resources for students, faculty, and staff. HealingU will serve as a blueprint for mental health initiatives on other college campuses, work spaces, and communities around the world.
