*4.2. Implications for Practice*

This study advocates for designing and implementing appropriate interventions or programs to promote the mental health of students. The new policies and interventions will need to address gender differentials, such as designing tailored interventions for girls to address their specific needs. The use of telehealth has also been expanded in COVID-19, which can be used to offer remote counseling interventions across school or college campuses. Online implementation of mental health programs should be emphasized in lower or middle-income countries, which was reported to be a neglected field despite having good internet use [68]. Regular counseling centers for in-person visits across campuses with limited access to technology can also be beneficial. Besides, efforts should be directed towards increasing the quality of mental health services provided to the students. Mental health services provided by trained staff are improving. However, there are some gaps to be filled. According to the Association for College and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), comprising counseling directors of educational institutions from the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, one in five centers on their campus were reported to be lacking the optimum quality of mental

health services [61,62]. The guided ways of stress management as implemented in certain universities in the US can be tailored towards a more comprehensive virtual delivery during the times of COVID-19. The American Council on Education advisory for the leadership ensures readiness of campuses for handling the increased burden on students' mental health. This involves regularly performing the needs assessment of college students from diverse backgrounds to design prospective policies and interventions. Healthy Minds Study or the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment are examples that can be launched campus-wide to collect data for assessment and targeted intervention development.

#### **5. Conclusions**

College students bear a disproportionate burden of mental health problems worldwide, with females having higher anxiety and depression levels than males. This study's findings underscore the need to develop appropriate public health interventions to address adolescents' emotional, psychological, and social needs. The policies should be reflective of demographic and socioeconomic differentials.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, analysis, screening, and investigations: K.B. and R.B.; Search strategy: N.S.; Methodology: K.B., M.S., and R.B.; Writing—original draft: K.B., R.B., T.P.S., M.S., and N.S.; Writing—review and editing: all authors. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** No funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not Applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not Applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data are contained within the article or Appendix A.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
