Creating Healthy Universities: The role of campus-based health promotion events in supporting student well-being

Issue addressed University students have been increasingly recognised as a population with a high prevalence of mental ill health, with research suggesting that psychological distress is higher among tertiary education students than nonstudents. The purpose of this study was to assess students' perceptions of the effectiveness of student-led, campus-based mental health promotion events on their well-being. Methods The cross-sectional study included six campus-based events, and collected data from 700 university students using a survey tool that included quantitative and qualitative measures. A multivariate logistic regression model was developed to investigate the association among explanatory variables and the response variable. A log-likelihood ratio test was used to assess the goodness of fitness of the final model. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. Results Results showed that the majority of students (84%) agreed the event promoted and supported student well-being, with three variables being statistically related to this agreement: (a) respondents' decision to spend more time on campus due to the event; (b) how respondents felt about receiving health information from student peers; and (c) the number of activities in which they took part. Conclusions Our findings suggest that campus-based mental health promotion events need to be designed with emphasis on activities that attract, retain and educate students about mental health, and are delivered with the benefits of peer-to-peer health promotion in mind, in order to reach their full potential in supporting improved student mental health. So what? The findings highlight the opportunities that can be created by university events to promote and support student mental health by building peer relationships and creating a sense of community.

Automated summary

The majority of students agreed that student-led campus-based mental health promotion events promoted and supported student well-being. Factors related to this agreement included students' willingness to spend more time on campus due to the event, their feelings about receiving health information from student peers, and the number of activities they participated in. These findings suggest that activities that attract, retain, and educate students about mental health, delivered with the benefits of peer-to-peer health promotion in mind, can support improved student mental health.