Using Telehealth to Provide Behavioral Healthcare to Young Adults and College Students.

The suicide rate remains the second leading cause of death for young adults and increased by 33 percent between 1999 and 2019.1 Also, it is the fourth leading cause of death among people ages 35-44 and the fifth leading cause among people ages 45-54, making suicide a problem not unique to only the university community; it is problem all across the country.2 The 2021-2022 academic year will also be mentally challenging to students returning to campus and those taking online classes due to COVID-19. The World Health Organization Situation Report published August 1, 2020, reported 4,456,389 confirmed cases and 151,265 deaths.3 However, most universities reopened their campuses in the fall of 2021. As universities may have limited social events, some students, particularly freshmen, may feel isolated. Social distancing can also cause stress levels among students to increase. This research investigates the perception of students about the need and use of telehealth and virtual appointments to provide students additional opportunities to receive the care they need. Most students were born in the information age and welcome technology as a tool to solve problems.4 The authors determined that providers can use mobile platforms to solve health problems. Regarding the full-scale replacement of health services with telehealth, the participants did not believe this was helpful and efficient. The authors determined that if healthcare providers implement telehealth, particularly in remote university campuses and rural areas, it will help to improve behavioral health on university campuses.