Wellness in Allied Health students: the case for change

Authors

  • Abigail Lewis Edith Cowan University
  • Alison Kirkman
  • Lisa Holmes Edith Cowan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33966/hepj.2.1.13447

Abstract

Introduction: the case for change

There are increasing mental health issues among young people, including higher education students. Millennial students face unique challenges with attention, critical thinking and managing stress. In addition, allied health students engage in multiple placements where they need to interact with real people in real time whilst being evaluated in assessment and treatment strategies. Some universities have been using wellness programs and mindfulness strategies to support student mental health across campuses for some time. However, as allied health students face unique challenges, there is a need for a particular focus on wellness at an individual allied health course level. The curriculum in allied health courses is determined by accreditation bodies and is comprehensive with little space for additional information. It is possible for short activities to be embedded in tutorials and the authors argue a focus on wellness is vital for the future allied health workforce.

Methodology for pilot project

This project used questionnaires to investigate student perceptions of a short program of activities to promote wellness and mindfulness in third year speech pathology students who were also engaging in clinical placements.

Results and discussion

Students were positive about the activities, developed their own wellness plan and learnt new strategies to manage their mental health at university and in their future careers.

Future directions

This short program could easily be adapted in other allied health courses.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Lisa Holmes, Edith Cowan University

Lecturer and Unit Coordinator

Allied Health

School of Medical and Health Sciences

References

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, ABS, Canberra.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014, Australia’s Health 2014, AIHW, viewed 25 April 2019, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-contents/summary-of-mental-health-services-in-australia

Barth, G & Johnson, GA 1983, A survey of wellness/healthy lifestyling on college and university campuses, Journal of American College Health, vol. 31(5), pp 226-227.

Bellinger, DB, DeCaro, MS, & Ralston, PA 2015, Mindfulness, anxiety, and high-stakes mathematics performance in the laboratory and classroom, Consciousness and Cognition, vol. 37, pp 123-132.

Beyond Blue Ltd 2018, Answering the call national survey, National mental health and wellbeing study of Police and Emergency Services – Final Report, Beyond Blue Ltd, Report No: BL/1898 11/18.

Danitz, S, & Orsillo, S 2014, The mindful way through the semester: An investigation of the effectiveness of an acceptance-based behavioral therapy program on psychological wellness in first-year students, Behavior Modification, vol. 38(4), pp 549-566.

Department of Health and Ageing (DHA). (2013). National Mental Health Report 2013: tracking progress of mental health reform in Australia 1993 – 2011. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Dobkin, PL, & Hutchinson, T.A 2013, Teaching mindfulness in medical school: where are we now and where are we going? Medical education, vol 47(8), pp 768-779.

Fox, KC, Nijeboer, S, Dixon, ML, Floman, JL, Ellamil, M, Rumak, SP, & Christoff, K 2014, Is meditation associated with altered brain structure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of morphometric neuroimaging in meditation practitioners, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 43, pp 48-73.

Gard, T, Hölzel, B.K, & Lazar, SW 2014, The potential effects of meditation on age‐related cognitive decline: a systematic review, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 1307(1), pp 89-103.

Goss, HB 2011, ‘Wellness education: An integrated theoretical framework for fostering Transformative Learning’ PhD Thesis, Queensland University of Technology.

Gotink, RA, Chu, P, Busschbach, JJ, Benson, H, Fricchione, GL & Hunink, MM 2015, Standardised mindfulness-based interventions in healthcare: an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs, PLoS One, vol. 10(4), e0124344.

Hallowell, EM 2005, Overloaded circuits: why smart people underperform. Harvard Business Review, vol. 83(1), pp 54-62.

Hassed, C, De Lisle, S, Sullivan, G & Pier, C 2009, Enhancing the health of medical students: outcomes of an integrated mindfulness and lifestyle program, Advances in health sciences education, vol. 14(3), pp. 387-398.

Headspace 2019, Headspace App, Headspace inc, viewed on 9 May 2019, https://www.headspace.com/about-us

Hermon, D & Hazler, R 1999, Adherence to a wellness model and perceptions of psychological well-Being, Journal of Counselling & Development, vol. 77(3), pp. 339-343.

Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Evans, K. C., Hoge, E. A., Dusek, J. A., Morgan, L., ... & Lazar, S. W. (2009). Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 5(1), 11-17.

Ivancic, L, Perrens, B, Fildes, J, Perry, Y, & Christensen, H 2017, Youth Mental Health Report, Youth Survey 2012-2016, Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute, Sydney.

Kabat‐Zinn, J 2003, Mindfulness‐based interventions in context: past, present, and future, Clinical psychology: Science and practice, vol. 10(2), pp 144-156.

Kang, DH, Jo, HJ, Jung, WH, Kim, SH, Jung, YH, Choi, CH, & Kwon, JS 2012, The effect of meditation on brain structure: cortical thickness mapping and diffusion tensor imaging, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, vol. 8(1), pp 27-33.

Khoury, B, Lecomte, T, Fortin, G, Masse, M, Therien, P, Bouchard, V, ... & Hofmann, S. G. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 33(6), 763-771.

Killingsworth, MA, & Gilbert, DT 2010, A wandering mind is an unhappy mind, Science, vol. 330(6006), pp 932-932.

Kilpatrick, LA, Suyenobu, BY, Smith, SR, Bueller, JA, Goodman, T, Creswell, JD, & Naliboff, BD 2011, Impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction training on intrinsic brain connectivity, Neuroimage, vol. 56(1), pp 290-298.

Lazar, SW, Kerr, CE, Wasserman, RH, Gray, JR, Greve, DN, Treadway, MT, & Rauch, SL 2005, Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness, Neuroreport, vol. 16(17), pp 1893.

Levitin, DJ 2014, The organized mind: Thinking straight in the age of information overload. Penguin

Mann, K, Gordon, J, & MacLeod, A 2009, Reflection and reflective practice in health professions education: a systematic review, Advances in Health Sciences Education vol. 14(4), pp 595-621.

Marchand, WR 2014, Neural mechanisms of mindfulness and meditation: evidence from neuroimaging studies, World journal of radiology, vol. 6(7), pp 471.

Marois, R & Ivanoff, J 2005, Capacity limits of information processing in the brain. Trends in Cognitive Science, vol. 9, pp 296-305.

Myers, JE, & Sweeney, TJ 2004, The Indivisible Self: An Evidence-Based Model of Wellness, Journal of Individual Psychology, vol. 60(3), pp 234-245.

Nimon S 2007, Generation Y and Higher Education: The Other Y2K, Journal of Institutional Research, vol. 13(1), pp 24–41.

Oblinger, D 2003, Boomers, Gen –Xers and Millennials – understanding the new students. EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 38(4), pp36-40.

Ophir, E, Nass, C & Wagner, AD, 2009, Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), pp.15583-15587.

Pagnoni, G, & Cekic, M 2007, Age effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation, Neurobiology of aging, vol. 28(10), pp 1623-1627.

Raab, K 2014, Mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy among health care professionals: a review of the literature, Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, vol. 20(3), pp 95-108.

Ramsburg, JT, & Youmans, RJ 2014, Meditation in the higher-education classroom: meditation training improves student knowledge retention during lectures, Mindfulness, vol. 5(4), pp 431-441.

Regehr, C, Glancy, D, & Pitts, A 2013, Interventions to reduce stress in university students: A review and meta-analysis, Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 148(1), pp 1-11.

Rodger, S, Webb, G, Devitt, L, Gilbert, J, Wrightson, P, & McMeeken, J 2008, Clinical education and practice placements in the allied health professions: an international perspective, Journal of Allied Health, vol. 37(1), pp 53-62.

Rose, C, Godfrey, K, & Rose, K 2016, Supporting Student Wellness: “De-stressing” Initiatives at Memorial University Libraries, Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, Vol. 10(2).

Russell, W, Block, B, Kraft, J, & Kissock, S 2011, A Critical Thinking-Based Approach to Teaching University Wellness Courses, Missouri Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, vol. 21, pp 107-122.

Shapiro, SL, Brown, KW, & Astin, JA 2008, Toward the integration of meditation into higher education: A review of research, The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. Viewed on 28 April 2019, http://www.Contemplativemind.org/admin/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/MedandHigherEd.pdf.

Sidani, JE, Shensa, A, Radovic, A, Miller, E, Colditz, JB, Hoffman, BL. & Primack, BA 2016, Association between social media use and depression among US young adults, Depression and anxiety, vol. 33(4), pp 323-331.

Sinclair, S, Kondejewski, J, Raffin‐Bouchal, S, King‐Shier, KM, & Singh, P 2017, Can Self‐Compassion Promote Healthcare Provider Well‐Being and Compassionate Care to Others? Results of a Systematic Review, Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, vol. 9(2), pp 168-206.

Skovholt, TM, & Trotter-Mathison, M 2011, The resilient practitioner: Burnout prevention and self-care strategies for counsellors, therapists, teachers, and health professionals (2nd ed.), New York, Routledge.

Stalnaker-Shofner, DM, & Manyam, SB 2014, The effect of a wellness intervention on the total wellness of counselling practicum graduate students, The Practitioner Scholar: Journal of Counselling and Professional Psychology, vol. 3(1).

University of Nebraska – Lincoln 2008, The Wellness Model, Campus Recreational and Wellness Services, UNL, viewed on 6 May 2019, https://wellness.unl.edu/

University of Queensland 2019, The Desk, UQ, viewed on 7 May 2019, https://www.thedesk.org.au/about

Wright, B, & Winslade, M 2018, University staff and students are at high risk of ill health. Here’s how to make sure they can cope. The Conversation, viewed on 2 May 2019, http://theconversation.com/university-staff-and-students-are-at-high-risk-of-ill-health-heres-how-to-make-sure-they-can-cope-101070

World Health Organisation 2014, Mental health: a state of well-being, WHO, viewed 01 May 2019, http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/#.

Yager, Z 2011, Health education in teacher education: evaluation of learning design with embedded personal wellness learning and assessment focus, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 36(10), pp. 8.

Downloads

Published

2019-06-28

How to Cite

Lewis, A., Kirkman, A., & Holmes, L. (2019). Wellness in Allied Health students: the case for change. ealth ducation in ractice: ournal of esearch for rofessional earning, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.33966/hepj.2.1.13447

Issue

Section

Articles