Health at the Université de Lyon

The Université de Lyon’s health initiative can be divided into three main objectives:

1. Improving access to health care: the Université de Lyon takes measures and creates projects aiming to improve access to the best available health care for all students. The UdL's health care team works with health care stakeholders so that students can easily find the service they need.
    
2. Encouraging students to take care of their mental health, by removing the stigma attached to mental illness and showing that taking care of mental health is a way to improve one's overall health. The Université de Lyon is deploying a large-scale information campaign through the identification of all the relevant resources in the area, provided in the field by its partners. It also partnered with the Lyon branch of the Nightline organization to establish the UdL Nightline helpline.
    
3. Promoting prevention policies: good health goes beyond getting care; prevention also plays an essential role. Students can also benefit from numerous health services at no charge on their campus, and access awareness schemes and discussion forums to ask any health-related questions.

To reach out to students, various measures have been deployed by the Université de Lyon, with and for its partner institutions and the Crous de Lyon, with the support of the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes:

• Regular and theme-based information campaigns: campaign on access to health care -“Taking care of your health is really not complicated!” in 2018, and the campaign on mental health: “Your mental health is essential as well!” – since 2021,
• The identification and the publication of a directory compiling all the resources, addresses and schemes in Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Roanne and Bourg-en-Bresse, for easy access to health care, including mental health care,
• The promotion of university health services, which are the main driving forces in improving student health.

• In 2021, volunteers known as “health ambassadors” were tasked with creating innovative events and dialogue. These volunteers travel around campuses and student life locations to listen to students’ queries and feelings regarding their physical and mental health.

• By organizing theme-based workshops on campuses and in the city ("Two weeks for better sleep", in universities, schools and student dormitories, and nutrition workshops in the university restaurants and cafeterias),
• By working with Nightline to launch a listening, support, and information service in 2020, for students in Lyon and Saint-Étienne (open every evening from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.).
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• By supporting the creation of a health center on the Porte des Alpes campus: the University Health Service (SSU - Service de santé universitaire) of the Université Lumière Lyon 2,
• By working on opening an innovative student mental health center which will provide a free overall health care offer that takes into account students’ specific characteristics and schedules, as well as taking measures in the prevention and health fields.

• By regularly offering the institutions’ health professionals training courses and theme-based workshops (e.g. sleep, personal problems, dealing with post-traumatic stress, and eating disorders),
• By organizing “Mental health first aid” training for stakeholders in the university community (students and student life professionals) to increase understanding and identify mental health disorders as well as to teach them how to respond to a person experiencing mental distress.
  ► Find out more (in French)