Mental Health and Wellbeing: Converging HCI with Human Informatics in Higher Education

The purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussion on how to meet the demand for flexible instructional strategies that include information and communications technologies (ICT) in higher education as effective interventions for people with mental health issues. ICT strategies are widely believed to offer new options for Web-mediated courseware design. We examine the impact of mental illness on post secondary education. Despite the advances made with multi-media and online courseware development, we suggest there has been little examination of whether ICT tools meet the specific needs of people recovering from mental illness. Correctly designed electronic courseware may provide the customised learning environment that affords the much needed flexibility people are asking for. Adoption of effective human-computer interaction (HCI) provides enhanced solutions for people with a mental health disability wishing to continue with their studies. This paper presents a compelling case for a commitment from the higher education sector towards access and equity to lessen the stigma of mental illness.