UMass Chan Student Group “Virtual Buddies” and Its Longitudinal Mentorship for Struggling Youths Dur

Rohit Das, BS, Thomas Drews, BS, Christian Keenan, MSE, Calvin Schaffer, BS, and Fiona Splaine, BS, medical students at UMass Chan Medical School

YOuth mental health aCrOss the unIteD states Was declining years before the pandemic even began. Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased 40% among high school students from 2009-2019, while pediatric emergency department visits for mental health disorders rose by 60% and self-harm visits by 329% between 2007-2016 (1, 2). Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In addition to the ongoing mental health crisis, youths were experiencing social isolation in unprecedented numbers, resulting in overwhelming situations in both the medical and school systems across the country, as well as right here in Worcester.

To address this problem, a multidisciplinary team of physicians at the University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine (UMass Chan) had the idea to foster a sense of connectedness and belonging through a “virtual buddy” system. “By setting up a network of our students to call the Worcester Public School (WPS) students who were struggling, we could provide support, fellowship, and kindness when COVID-19 was creating the most uncertain of times,” recounts Dr. Michael Hirsh, medical director for the Worcester Department of Public Health (DPH) and a program advisor. The initiative would match WPS students with medical, nursing, and graduate students from the UMass Chan community to form longitudinal relationships. Our UMass Chan student-led team was recruited from pre-existing mentorship volunteer groups to spearhead the Virtual Buddy initiative and do our part to help combat youth mental health challenges.

Establishing effective communication with WPS staff was crucial because they understood the intricate details and nuances of the challenges their students faced on a daily basis. “Our goal was to create an intervention that started with the schools, since the schools know the kids best,” noted Dr. Brian Skehan, child psychiatrist and early project advisor. Through Maura

Mahoney, WPS Manager of Social Emotional Learning, we were connected with Lauren Colwell, an adjustment counselor at University Park Campus school, who became our main point of contact. Together, we created a program that would best serve students struggling with isolation and mental health. With the program structure in place, we began outreach to engage the UMass student body and recruit the “mentors.” Before mentors could be paired with a buddy, they participated in a training session led by pediatrician and WPS school physician Dr. Bev Nazarian and child psychiatry fellow Dr. Arielle Graham. The aims of the training were to emphasize the need for stronger support networks in the youth population affected by COVID19, teach the mentors how to empower these students, and inform mentors of the protocols and available resources in the event of an emergency. Mentors were also encouraged to attend Youth Mental Health First Aid Workshops, led by Colwell and fellow adjustment counselor Juliamy Saraiva, which “teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations.”

While every student in the WPS system may have struggled with the isolation and anxiety that the pandemic caused, some were disproportionately affected. Those students, as identified by their school adjustment counselors, were referred to the program. Both the mentors and WPS students filled out a form to indicate their hobbies, favorite movies/shows, and experiences. Over 25 matches were made over the one year span, some of which are still in communication today. After being matched, the pairs interacted remotely via phone calls, Zoom sessions, or multiplayer online video games. Each pairs’ activity was reported in a Google form log, which provided a description of the interaction, so that Colwell could be up to date on each pair. As time went on and distancing restrictions loosened, pairs were encouraged to meet in person, provided the students’ families were informed and agreeable.

The impact of this program can be seen in the response of the students involved. One of these students, Owen, states, “There are days when I just don’t feel like talking much and there are days when I want to, but that happens very rarely with this program. I really love this program as it pairs you with someone that likes the things you like and gives you someone to talk about your problems with.” The longitudinal relationship helps give students a safe space to express themselves while also taking a step back from the stressors that they face every day. While the program is centered around the mental health of the WPS students, it has helped the mentors as well.

One of the mentors, Thomas, states “Talking to my buddy is always a highlight of my week. Chatting about Star Wars or video games is a nice reprieve from the constant stressors of medical school.” Additionally, mentors learned how important a holistic approach is to addressing complex topics such as youth mental health; treatment and prevention start far outside the walls of a doctor’s office or hospital.

Although the program had a positive impact, there were challenges as well. Time constraints came up for some mentors, who were unable to follow through after the initial pairing. Over time, mentors and students both navigated new academic transitions, and meetings for some pairs became more infrequent, while others lost touch altogether. Additionally, there was a greater need for mentors who are non-native English speakers, but unfortunately most of the mentors were not fluent in other languages and were unable to accommodate this need. These problems will be addressed before the start of the upcoming school year.

The social deprivation that this pandemic has created is unlike anything that has been seen before and has amplified a previously growing youth mental health crisis. Regardless of when the pandemic ends, there will always be students that are disproportionately socially isolated and are deserving of a friend and mentor. With that in mind, there will always be a place for Virtual Buddies and the goal is to keep this support system strong for these deserving students.

We would like to thank Dr. Skehan, Dr. Hirsh, Dr. Nazarian, Dr. Graham, Lauren Colwell, Juliamy Saraiva, and all others involved in helping to make this program a reality. None of this would have been possible without them.

Rohit Das, BS, Thomas Drews, BS, Christian Keenan, MSE, and Fiona Splaine, BS are 3rd year medical students and Calvin Schaffer, BS is a 4th year medical student

Rohit Das, email: rohit.das@umassmed.edu

Thomas Drews, email: thomas.drews@umassmed.edu

Christian Keenan, email: christian.keenan@umassmed.edu

Calvin Schaffer, email: calvin.schaffer@umassmed.edu

Fiona Splaine, email: fiona.splaine@umassmed.edu

REFERENCES

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, March 31). New CDC data illuminate youth mental health threats during the COVID-19 pandemic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0331youth-mental-health-covid-19.html#:~:text=According to the new data,hopeless during the past year.

2. Lo, C. B., Bridge, J. A., Shi, J., Ludwig, L., & Stanley, R. M. (2020). Children’s Mental Health Emergency Department Visits: 2007–2016. Pediatrics, 145(6). https://doi. org/10.1542/peds.2019-1536