Investigating Health Self-management Among Different Generation Immigrant College Students with Depression

Digital tools for health hold a lot of promise in terms of empowering individuals to take control over their health and improving access to care. This may be especially critical for marginalized individuals, such as immigrant college students, and those who face stigmatizing conditions, such as depression. However, research is limited on how these tools fit into users’ existing practices around health management. In order to address this gap, we first investigate existing practices by focusing on a specific population: college students with depression ranging from immigrant generation 1 to 2.5. This group is important to study as they are at an increased risk for depression but may be less likely to access traditional treatment. We present results about their practices around health self-tracking and digital tools specific to depression management. Based on a survey of 83 participants, we found that although students with depression across these various immigrant generations engage in health self-tracking (94%), few track mental health indicators and most do not use mobile apps (81.9%) or other online resources (86.7%) to help with their depression. Those that do use apps and online resources offer insights into their depression management needs.