International students need continued support after a tough time during the pandemic.
As the new Australian academic year approaches, international students are beginning to arrive at their chosen university to start or continue their higher education journey.
As they prepare to welcome these valued students, universities must take time to consider the ongoing impact of the pandemic on international student mental health and provide appropriate support to assist their adjustment to ‘post-COVID’ university life.
International students have faced multiple threats to their wellbeing across the pandemic. Those who remained or became ‘trapped’ in Australia during this time were subjected to ongoing periods of heightened uncertainty and loss of control, as well as isolation and loneliness.
At the same time, feelings of safety and belonging were tested as racism against international students intensified.
Financial concerns were a further source of stress for international students, with the casual work relied on to fund day-to-day living costs drying up during lockdown.
During this time, media reports of international students struggling to meet rental payments and relying on goodwill from sympathetic community groups were commonplace.
For students unable to return to Australia to continue their degree, further financial demands came from storage fees and student accommodation rental or break-lease payments, adding to rising costs of living at home.
For many international students, the fact their families have provided funds to enable their overseas tertiary education, often at great personal risk and cost, exacerbated feelings of distress arising from these unexpected financial struggles.
The shift to online classes, while crucial to ongoing educational access during the pandemic contributed to student isolation.
This system of teaching and learning limited students' opportunities to make the new social and academic networks so crucial to their engagement with studies, and their sense of belonging at university and in Australia.
Reports of hopelessness, uncertainty about the future, trust in the unfamiliar online delivery system and difficulty in accessing and adapting to this system from their home base became common.
For many international students, cultural perceptions of mental health and associated stigma, and an unfamiliarity with host nation support services, prevented their ability to access crucial support.
Although the relevant data is not available in Australia, the One Voice study revealed a spike in suicide, attempted suicide and suicidal ideation among international students in Canada in 2021.
All of this indicates international students returning to study this year may have experienced situations that will affect their ability to adapt to university life and threaten their overall wellbeing.
The environment they are returning to has also altered. At the time of writing, Asian students are again a target of unjustified vilification following criticisms of their country’s management of the disease.
Financial stresses for students have also intensified, with fuel, food and rental costs continuing to spiral across Australia.
What needs doing and what’s being done
While the longer-term impact of this period on international student mental health is not yet known, higher education cannot be complacent and assume resolution with the reopening of state and national borders to international students.
Now more than ever, an industry-wide approach that understands, acknowledges, and safeguards international student mental health is required.
Tailored strategies to reengage international students academically and socially and to encourage networking within and outside campus, are crucial to their mental health, study success and future employment.
Welcoming and orientating students from induction onwards can help with access to unfamiliar systems and services.
For international students this may include information on safe neighbourhoods and transport, the health system, financial support, and advice, including cheap sources of local culturally appropriate foods and introductions to cultural community networks.
Normalising mental health issues in classrooms and campus discussions may improve uptake of university and community support, as can the explicit promotion of relevant services, their cost and confidentiality.
Current good practice within Western Australian higher education includes Edith Cowan University’s introduction of a weekly International Café, which focuses on adjusting to life in Australia and demystifying the services and support available.
Other ECU initiatives include the commencement of a counselling service for offshore students in 2021, the expansion of a ‘Jobs on Campus’ initiative to employ international students and the initiation of a working group supporting international students ahead of their return in 2023, with a particular focus on accommodation.
Understanding the longer-term impact of the pandemic on international student mental health and the effectiveness of these and other mental health interventions, depends on reliable and consistent data on student experiences and service uptake at university and national level.
Despite pre-pandemic reports of disproportionately high levels of mental health issues among international students, there is little published research on this issue on which to base future strategies.
Although unpalatable, routine data on international student suicide in Australia must also be collected.
Both government and individual universities must take responsibility for this monitoring and reporting to reveal the extent of mental health issues among students and evaluate proactive support strategies.
More immediately, university student support systems must take account of the traumas experienced by its international students in the recent past and the altered educational and social landscape they are returning to.
Dr Lesley Andrew is a senior lecturer and researcher at Edith Cowan University School of Nursing and Midwifery.
This article was originally published in The West Australian.
