Communicating Mental Health Disaster Preparedness at Canadian Universities: A Website Content Analysis Approach

This article examines how disaster and emergency management websites at 51 Canadian universities communicate mental health preparedness. Using website content analysis and drawing on risk and inoculation communication theories, it assesses whether universities provide forewarning, refutation and resource awareness for students, staff and faculty. The study finds that fewer than half of universities communicated internal or external mental health resources on emergency websites, while 88% provided physical safety guidance.

The key takeaway is that university disaster preparedness communication often separates physical safety from mental health resilience. While some websites linked mental health resources to specific crises, such as violence, hurricanes or active assailant training, most relied on general resource links rather than proactive disaster mental health messaging. The article highlights the need to integrate mental health resources more clearly into higher education emergency management communication, policy and practice.