Events to explore U. role in helping students cope

Meeting material needs and providing support to victims of crises can help mitigate the effects of depressive illness caused by experiencing traumatic events, says a U-M physician who will help lead off a national depression conference hosted by the University next week.

Dr. Sandro Galea, associate professor and co-director of the School of Public Health Disaster Research Education and Mentoring Center, says 25-50 percent of victims of events, such as the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks and Hurricane Katrina, likely face some kind of post-traumatic stress or depression, and up to 10 percent of the general public, including students, may experience the same effects.

"We have discovered that there is a pervasive effect of disasters on public health," says Galea. He will be one of the featured speakers when U-M hosts a three-day conference to explore a university's role in supporting the mental health needs of students during times of crisis, disaster and loss. The event will be held March 21-23 at the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. "There are many physical and mental health effects that are consequences of disasters," he says.

The fourth annual Depression on College Campuses conference will feature speakers from campuses affected by 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, dormitory fires, the deadly collapse of a homecoming weekend bonfire, and a rash of suicides.

In each situation, college officials, students and faculty had to cope with the immediate and lingering mental effects, at the same time they dealt with depression and other mental disorders that affect an estimated one in 10 members of the college-age population.

Students, as well as college health specialists, faculty and administrators, can play an active role in preparing for and responding to a crisis, says Dr. John Greden, executive director of the Depression Center and chair of the Department of Psychiatry in the Medical School.

"In the wake of so many extraordinary events that have affected our nation's campuses, we hope this conference will foster the sharing of plans and effective tactics, encourage open discussion of challenges, and help more campuses prepare to handle the mental health aspects of crises of all kinds," Greden says.

The conference is sponsored by the Depression Center and the Center for Public Health Preparedness. Additional information, including a schedule of events, and registration and workshop selection forms, is available at www.depressioncenter.org/2006DCC.htm.

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