Towards improving the utilisation of counselling centre services by Ghanaian university students: An exploratory study

Abstract

This study sought to explore university students’ expectations from on-campus counselling centres in order to improve service utilisation. A total of 72 Ghanaian students attending a public university in Accra (64% females; 85% undergraduate; 90% in the 18–35 age range) provided written responses of their expectations from their counselling centre. Thematic analyses yielded two essential counselling centre needs: Enhanced counselling centre functions and the elimination of systems barriers. For enhanced counselling centre functions, students reported needing traditional and non-traditional services, as well as advocacy efforts on their behalf. Systems barriers students wanted eliminated were stigma, low awareness and inaccessibility. These findings indicate a need for a holistic approach to service delivery, and elimination of services-seeking barriers to improve counselling centre service utilisation at Ghanaian universities.

Keywords:

• Ghana
• university students
• mental health services utilisation
• counselling centre
• needs assessment

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary material. Supplementary data is available at:https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2023.2233225.