Choosing a Segment:
For this assignment, I chose the segment of students in college. All of the people I interviewed are people who are in college and are on their own for the first time in their lives. One is a sophomore (male) here at UF, another is a freshman (female) who just got to UF, and the last person is a junior (female) at UF.
What I learned:
I learned that the demand for this service is not as high as I thought. Most of the students I interviewed, said that they have dealt with depression in college, but never thought to do anything about it. Therefore, during the interview, they said it was a great idea, but they may not think to get help first. All three of the people I interviewed said that they would have needed this service, especially when they first came to college and were on their own for the first time. All of the people I interviewed agreed that this was a need that should be addressed. The sophomore I interviewed said that he tried to find resources to go to when he was struggling with depression, and when he went to Gatorwell, the wait was over a month to book an appointment. The freshman I interviewed said that she would like to have a service like this, but it would have to be nearby since she does not have a car here. The junior I interviewed said that she was depressed at the beginning of college, but she would go home frequently so it helped a little. However, she said that as classes become harder as the years go on, she finds herself very overwhelmed and sometimes depressed, so a place where she could talk to someone about it or learn how to manage the stress would be helpful. Therefore, there is still potentially an opportunity here based on my interviews and the feedback I received.
Draw conclusions/Need Awareness/Information Search:
Based on what I know about this segment and my interviews, I definitely believe that this business could be successful if it were located near college campuses. From what I learned in my interviews, there is an opportunity here, however students may not always take the necessary steps to get help. Therefore, if the business was located near campuses, and highly encouraged and advertised on campus, then students may be more inclined to come get help. The need awareness I discovered was that the students I interviewed mainly experience mental health issues freshman year. However, it can reoccur and be a prominent issue even in the later years of college. The information search I discovered was that students search for the closest places possible first, since many students do not have transportation. Some of the students I interviewed discussed their issues with family, but one mentioned they were too embarrassed to burden their family with their issues and they wanted to try and deal with it on their own.
Hi Ava, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. Not saying it is from personal experience but I feel people who are depressed or have other issues do not openly come out about it because they feel like they will be judged or discriminated against. For example, I know there are already many physical and mental health services, like GatorWell, on campus already but I rarely see people going into them. But overall I enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteHi Ava,
ReplyDeleteI think you identified some great points in this post. It is important to analyze the factors that would stop students from utilizing this service. Therefore, I like how you noted that some students do not have transportation and that this opportunity would be located near campus. You also mentioned that the long wait time at Gatorwell prevents some students from seeking help. That means there is a large demand for mental health services and not enough resources to meet that demand. This is where your opportunity comes into play.
I also chose to do college students as well. It seemed like the people I interviewed didn't have any awareness to the problem until I brought it up to them. I think your idea should definitely target college students but I also think it may be a good idea for you to try interviewing high schoolers as they are more likely to ask/get help. My friend works in the crisis call center and says she gets calls ALL the time so I think your idea is really important to others!
ReplyDeleteAva,
ReplyDeleteThis your idea is definitely an important one. There is so much pressure on you young college students but starting when you're in high school. I think a lot of taboo behind getting help is the fear of the unknown. If you could start with opening support groups, the idea of people sharing experiences and struggles and being able to relate is a great way to start the idea of getting help.