Nitya Kanuri developed Mana Maali to reduce stress levels of college students
The start: Since watching 3 Idiots, Nitya has paid more attention to the stress levels on university campuses in India
Hyderabad: “Think back to a time in your life when you felt stressed, anxious and overwhelmed, as if an elephant was sitting on your chest; and you didn’t know who to tell or how to go about moving that elephant. Does this lead you to a memory from your university days?” asks 24-year-old NRI, Nitya Kanuri, currently a social science research assistant and study coordinator at Stanford School of Medicine.
It all started when Nitya, who graduated in Biological Basis of Behaviour from the University of Pennsylvania, watched 3 Idiots three years ago. “Since watching 3 Idiots I have paid more attention to the stress levels on university campuses in India.
This pressure cooker environment has been gaining media and government attention over the years and universities are realising they must take responsibility for both the academic and mental welfare of their students. So I decided to develop this project that will help us evaluate the efficacy of online and mobile programmes to reduce anxiety and more broadly increase mental wellness, among Indian university students,” says Nitya.
The Stanford team is working with BITS Pilani Hyderabad, VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology and a group of psychologists from the Hyderabad Academy of Psychology for the project titled ‘Mana Maali’, a Hindi phrase that means “Gardener of the Mind”.
The $60,000 project is being funded by Stanford, BITS Pilani Hyderabad, VNR and some private donors. Both universities have invested in helping shape the future of student mental wellness in India. “Though I grew up in the US, my dad’s (Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Kanuri) family is based in Hyderabad, so I come here frequently and have grown attached to family and friends. My grandfather, the late K.L.N. Prasad was a well-known industrialist and politician.
“Upon joining the Behavioral Medicine Lab at Stanford a year ago, I have focused on how the use of technology can reduce anxiety among university students by making mental health services more accessible and its delivery more cost-effective. In doing this work, I saw an opportunity to connect the research I was doing at Stanford to the challenges I knew existed in India.
The project will launch at BITS Pilani Hyderabad when students return in January and at VNR in February. At each campus, students will complete a survey, be divided into categories based on their reported answers (e.g., no stress, some stress, and significant stress), and be given a personalised, online or cell phone-based programme designed to help them manage stress and anxiety. “The main benefit to students is that they can get help anonymously and privately on their own time and on the platforms on which they already live,” says Nitya.
( Source : dc )
Next Story
