USC’s team has won first place in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Global Health Case Competition. This year 27 student teams from nine countries and 13 universities registered to compete in the third annual virtual contest. The final round took place at the APRU Global Health Conference in Malaysia.
The student teams were tasked with developing 10-minute videos that outlined realistic, well-designed, and innovative programs to reduce stigma associated with mental health issues among students. While preventable, suicide is a leading cause of death among students in many Pacific Rim economies. Universities are increasingly prioritizing mental health services in order to help prevent suicide and to improve overall student performance and well-being. However, studies have found that even when mental health care services are available, the vast majority of students suffering from depression and other mental health issues do not utilize them; one important reason is stigma.
An international panel of judges scored the submissions. The finalist teams were from the University Gadjah Mada, University of Malaya, Our Lady of Fatima University and University of Southern California. The four teams were invited to participate in APRU Global Health Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 28-30, 2018, where their videos were presented and scored live.
USC’s team of MS Global Medicine students—who have since graduated from the Keck School of Medicine of USC—included Jasmine Gill, Sydney Gould, Heather Lemaster, Yuxin Ouyang and Raquel Ribeiro. Two attended the the global health conference and accepted their team’s first place prize of $500.
The case competition is organized each year by the APRU Global Health Program, directed by Mellissa Withers, USC associate professor of clinical preventive medicine.
Watch the USC team’s first-place video:
