ABSTRACT:
Background. A recent assessment at a university in Qatar found that nearly half of the participants; mostly undergraduate female students, reported being diagnosed with at least one mental health condition. Our study aims to gain a rich understanding of female QU students’ mental health status, qualitatively assess mental health literacy (MHL) and influencing factors, and explore the barriers and motivators of their mental health help-seeking behavior. Methods. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were followed to recruit a sample of current female students. Semi-structured interviews in Arabic and English were conducted to collect the viewpoints of 20 female students from different academic levels and various colleges. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was employed. Results. The main themes reported by the participants shed light on their mental health status and their perception of susceptibility; mental health literacy among the participants; factors shaping mental health literacy; and factors that affect their mental health help- seeking behavior. Participants reported individual factors, sociocultural factors, and confidentiality as barriers to mental health help- seeking behavior, and their social networks including family and peers as motivators. Conclusion. Our study provides recommendations to inform support mechanisms in the university setting and professional health services to improve mental health and wellbeing of university students and youth in Qatar. Promoting mental health support services provided on campus, incorporating mental health education into the curriculum, and providing staff members with mental health sensitivity training were recommended by the participants. A conceptual framework was constructed to present the findings.