This article was submitted by guest contributor, Marcia W. Henisz, founder of SASSIE Consulting and creator of Preparing for Wellness Abroad; and Dr. Michelle Nathan, Chief Medical Officer for On Call International.
International engagement in academia brings many benefits to its participants. Recent research by CASSIE (The Consortium of Analysis for Student Success in International Education) indicates that students that participate in education abroad have greater engagement, higher gpa’s, and stronger rates of degree completion.[1] For graduate students and faculty researchers, international collaborations often yield more publications and a stronger body of research.[2] With the growing awareness of mental health challenges across all populations, institutions must pro-actively consider the mental health needs of academia travelers to fully reap the rewards of international engagement.
Academic international travel can provide some unique mental health stressors that are not always anticipated by travelers. Adapting to a new living environment and different cultural approaches to communication, work and learning are stressors that should be considered in the preparation of travelers. The host culture’s varying perspectives on the identities of travelers must also be taken into consideration, in particular with LGBTQI+ travelers that may find themselves in environments where their identity is not accepted or same-sex relations may even be illegal.
International environments often have varying mental health support structures available to travelers. Some countries have a limited understanding of mental health that can lead to challenges with care. In certain areas, the approach to mental health disorders can be punitive with limited access to therapeutic care. The availability and legality of medications commonly used in the treatment of mental health in the United States varies greatly abroad. For example, certain stimulant medications are illegal in countries like Italy, France and Japan. These factors must be considered prior to travel to effectively prepare travelers for their time abroad.
With all of these nuances in mind, it’s highly recommended that institutions work with an emergency assistance provider like On Call International that not only can provide understanding and context around these intricacies, but also assist students, faculty and staff with obtaining the mental health support they need in their destinations. This can also include help with arranging a medical evaluation since there are some medical conditions that can manifest as a mental health issue; for example, head injuries can present with behavior changes and aggression in some individuals; and heatstroke can present with confusion and disjointed thoughts.
Institutions can also support their international travelers by focusing on mental health resources and self-care and wellness strategies as part of a traveler’s pre-departure preparation. Helping travelers to understand the level of mental health support that might be available in their destination, offering alternatives during travel, and encouraging the regular use of self-care and wellness strategies can boost traveler resilience. For travelers managing a current mental health condition while abroad, institutions should encourage the development of a wellness plan for the time overseas. While there has been more discussion of the mental health needs of students that are engaged in international programming, mental health support and wellness strategies are valuable for all academic travelers and institutions should work to make awareness of resources readily available to all travelers.
One particularly challenging area for many institutions is preparing program leaders to support the mental health needs of participants in short term faculty-led programming. Tapping into third-party resources with specific experience in this realm, such as SASSIE Consulting, can offer schools a robust approach to strengthening their international safety and security protocols while also supporting their faculty members’ ability to prepare for various mental health scenarios abroad. Providing proactive strategies for faculty members to incorporate into their programming —including self-care and wellness tools like breathing exercises, gratitude reflections or even physical activities, can also contribute to program success. In addition, it is essential that faculty members are aware of the emergency resources that are available through an emergency assistance provider like On Call International, as well as how to access them. Such measures strengthen a faculty leader’s capacity to effectively manage mental health incidents abroad and help prevent issues from snowballing into larger crises.
With the rise in mental health concerns amongst all academic travelers, institutions have a duty of care responsibility to provide resources and training to support their successful travel. Institutions that investigate and invest in these essentials provide an easy path for travelers to make reasonable efforts to prepare for their own well-being while traveling abroad to fulfill their duty of loyalty and maximize upon their international experiences.
About On Call International:
When traveling, every problem is unique–a medical crisis, a political threat, even a common accident such as a missed flight. But every solution starts with customized care that ensures travelers are safe and protected. That’s why for over 25 years, On Call International has provided fully-customized travel risk management and emergency assistance services protecting millions of travelers, their families, and their organizations. Visit www.oncallinternational.com and follow us on LinkedIn to learn more.
[1] Bell, A., Bhatt, R., Hodges, L., Rubin, D. & Shiflet, C.(2020). CASSIE Study Abroad and World Language Analyses and Infographics. University System of Georgia.
[2] Kwiek, Marek. (2021) What large-scale publication and citation data tell us about international research collaboration in Europe: changing national patterns in global contexts, Studies in Higher Education, 46:12, 2629-2649, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2020.1749254
