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A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course

Anne Duffy Orcid Logo, Nathan King Orcid Logo, Daniel Rivera, Kurtis Pankow Orcid Logo, Simone Cunningham, Elizabeth Tetzlaff, Kristen Kyone, Emily Dephoure, Adeleine Lyon, Lucy Robinson Orcid Logo, Edward Watkins, Charles Keown-Stoneman

BJPsych Open, Volume: 12

Swansea University Author: Kurtis Pankow Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1192/bjo.2025.10960

Abstract

BackgroundEntry to higher education coincides with a period of accelerated psychosocial and brain development. Student need for acceptable and accessible well-being and mental health support is straining university resources.AimsTo evaluate the acceptability and impact of a digital mental health lit...

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Published in: BJPsych Open
ISSN: 2056-4724
Published: Cambridge University Press 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71833
first_indexed 2026-04-30T08:51:20Z
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-04-30T10:53:19.6503409</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>71833</id><entry>2026-04-30</entry><title>A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>fefaac12947ce639c98ee81f632c5686</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-1782-3877</ORCID><firstname>Kurtis</firstname><surname>Pankow</surname><name>Kurtis Pankow</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2026-04-30</date><deptcode>EAAS</deptcode><abstract>BackgroundEntry to higher education coincides with a period of accelerated psychosocial and brain development. Student need for acceptable and accessible well-being and mental health support is straining university resources.AimsTo evaluate the acceptability and impact of a digital mental health literacy course tailored for undergraduates and delivered as an accredited interdisciplinary elective.MethodAnalyses included pre&#x2013;post course survey data from enrolled students and longitudinal U-Flourish Well-Being Survey data from a comparison sample of non-course takers over the same period (2021&#x2013;2024). Linear mixed-effects models examined associations between course participation and 12-week changes in mental health literacy, psychosocial risk factors, well-being and common mental health concerns.ResultsPre&#x2013;post course survey data (N = 2884) supported high acceptability, improvements in resilience (+0.06; 95% CI 0.03&#x2013;0.08, p &lt; 0.001) and self-compassion (+0.65; 95% CI 0.46&#x2013;0.84, p &lt; 0.001), and a reduction in brooding (&#x2212;0.31; 95% CI &#x2212;0.44 to&#x2212;0.18, p &lt; 0.001). Taking the course was associated with a reduction in anxiety (&#x3B2; = &#x2212;0.41; 95% CI &#x2212;0.55 to &#x2212;0.27, p &lt; 0.001) and cannabis use (proportional odds ratio 0.82; 95% CI 0.75&#x2013;0.90, p &lt; 0.001), improvement in sleep quality (&#x3B2; = 0.79; 95% CI 0.61&#x2013;0.97, p &lt; 0.001) and evidence of a protective effect on well-being (&#x3B2; = 0.24; 95% CI 0.11&#x2013;0.36, p &lt; 0.001) and depressive symptoms (&#x3B2; = &#x2212;0.37; 95% CI &#x2212;0.52 to &#x2212;0.21, p &lt; 0.001), compared with non-course takers. Effects differed by gender, with women benefitting most, but were comparable across minoritised student subgroups.ConclusionsMental health literacy delivered as an accredited undergraduate interdisciplinary course is highly acceptable and associated with improvement in psychological coping and positive effects on student mental health and well-being. Future research should focus on more diverse student samples, underlying mechanisms and sustained effects.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>BJPsych Open</journal><volume>12</volume><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher>Cambridge University Press</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>2056-4724</issnElectronic><keywords/><publishedDay>1</publishedDay><publishedMonth>3</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2026</publishedYear><publishedDate>2026-03-01</publishedDate><doi>10.1192/bjo.2025.10960</doi><url>https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2025.10960</url><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Engineering and Applied Sciences School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>EAAS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Another institution paid the OA fee</apcterm><funders>Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant number: TID 184571) Mach Gaensslen Foundation Rossy Family Foundation</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-04-30T10:53:19.6503409</lastEdited><Created>2026-04-30T09:46:23.2929820</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Anne</firstname><surname>Duffy</surname><orcid>0000-0002-5895-075x</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Nathan</firstname><surname>King</surname><orcid>0000-0003-4664-5456</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Daniel</firstname><surname>Rivera</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Kurtis</firstname><surname>Pankow</surname><orcid>0000-0002-1782-3877</orcid><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Simone</firstname><surname>Cunningham</surname><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Elizabeth</firstname><surname>Tetzlaff</surname><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Kristen</firstname><surname>Kyone</surname><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Emily</firstname><surname>Dephoure</surname><order>8</order></author><author><firstname>Adeleine</firstname><surname>Lyon</surname><order>9</order></author><author><firstname>Lucy</firstname><surname>Robinson</surname><orcid>0000-0001-5838-8384</orcid><order>10</order></author><author><firstname>Edward</firstname><surname>Watkins</surname><order>11</order></author><author><firstname>Charles</firstname><surname>Keown-Stoneman</surname><order>12</order></author></authors><documents/><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2026-04-30T10:53:19.6503409 v2 71833 2026-04-30 A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course fefaac12947ce639c98ee81f632c5686 0000-0002-1782-3877 Kurtis Pankow Kurtis Pankow true false 2026-04-30 EAAS BackgroundEntry to higher education coincides with a period of accelerated psychosocial and brain development. Student need for acceptable and accessible well-being and mental health support is straining university resources.AimsTo evaluate the acceptability and impact of a digital mental health literacy course tailored for undergraduates and delivered as an accredited interdisciplinary elective.MethodAnalyses included pre–post course survey data from enrolled students and longitudinal U-Flourish Well-Being Survey data from a comparison sample of non-course takers over the same period (2021–2024). Linear mixed-effects models examined associations between course participation and 12-week changes in mental health literacy, psychosocial risk factors, well-being and common mental health concerns.ResultsPre–post course survey data (N = 2884) supported high acceptability, improvements in resilience (+0.06; 95% CI 0.03–0.08, p < 0.001) and self-compassion (+0.65; 95% CI 0.46–0.84, p < 0.001), and a reduction in brooding (−0.31; 95% CI −0.44 to−0.18, p < 0.001). Taking the course was associated with a reduction in anxiety (β = −0.41; 95% CI −0.55 to −0.27, p < 0.001) and cannabis use (proportional odds ratio 0.82; 95% CI 0.75–0.90, p < 0.001), improvement in sleep quality (β = 0.79; 95% CI 0.61–0.97, p < 0.001) and evidence of a protective effect on well-being (β = 0.24; 95% CI 0.11–0.36, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (β = −0.37; 95% CI −0.52 to −0.21, p < 0.001), compared with non-course takers. Effects differed by gender, with women benefitting most, but were comparable across minoritised student subgroups.ConclusionsMental health literacy delivered as an accredited undergraduate interdisciplinary course is highly acceptable and associated with improvement in psychological coping and positive effects on student mental health and well-being. Future research should focus on more diverse student samples, underlying mechanisms and sustained effects. Journal Article BJPsych Open 12 Cambridge University Press 2056-4724 1 3 2026 2026-03-01 10.1192/bjo.2025.10960 https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2025.10960 COLLEGE NANME Engineering and Applied Sciences School COLLEGE CODE EAAS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant number: TID 184571) Mach Gaensslen Foundation Rossy Family Foundation 2026-04-30T10:53:19.6503409 2026-04-30T09:46:23.2929820 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences Anne Duffy 0000-0002-5895-075x 1 Nathan King 0000-0003-4664-5456 2 Daniel Rivera 3 Kurtis Pankow 0000-0002-1782-3877 4 Simone Cunningham 5 Elizabeth Tetzlaff 6 Kristen Kyone 7 Emily Dephoure 8 Adeleine Lyon 9 Lucy Robinson 0000-0001-5838-8384 10 Edward Watkins 11 Charles Keown-Stoneman 12
title A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
spellingShingle A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
Kurtis Pankow
title_short A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
title_full A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
title_fullStr A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
title_full_unstemmed A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
title_sort A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of a pedagogical approach to supporting undergraduate well-being and mental health: digital interdisciplinary accredited elective mental health literacy university course
author_id_str_mv fefaac12947ce639c98ee81f632c5686
author_id_fullname_str_mv fefaac12947ce639c98ee81f632c5686_***_Kurtis Pankow
author Kurtis Pankow
author2 Anne Duffy
Nathan King
Daniel Rivera
Kurtis Pankow
Simone Cunningham
Elizabeth Tetzlaff
Kristen Kyone
Emily Dephoure
Adeleine Lyon
Lucy Robinson
Edward Watkins
Charles Keown-Stoneman
format Journal article
container_title BJPsych Open
container_volume 12
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2056-4724
doi_str_mv 10.1192/bjo.2025.10960
publisher Cambridge University Press
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences
url https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2025.10960
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description BackgroundEntry to higher education coincides with a period of accelerated psychosocial and brain development. Student need for acceptable and accessible well-being and mental health support is straining university resources.AimsTo evaluate the acceptability and impact of a digital mental health literacy course tailored for undergraduates and delivered as an accredited interdisciplinary elective.MethodAnalyses included pre–post course survey data from enrolled students and longitudinal U-Flourish Well-Being Survey data from a comparison sample of non-course takers over the same period (2021–2024). Linear mixed-effects models examined associations between course participation and 12-week changes in mental health literacy, psychosocial risk factors, well-being and common mental health concerns.ResultsPre–post course survey data (N = 2884) supported high acceptability, improvements in resilience (+0.06; 95% CI 0.03–0.08, p < 0.001) and self-compassion (+0.65; 95% CI 0.46–0.84, p < 0.001), and a reduction in brooding (−0.31; 95% CI −0.44 to−0.18, p < 0.001). Taking the course was associated with a reduction in anxiety (β = −0.41; 95% CI −0.55 to −0.27, p < 0.001) and cannabis use (proportional odds ratio 0.82; 95% CI 0.75–0.90, p < 0.001), improvement in sleep quality (β = 0.79; 95% CI 0.61–0.97, p < 0.001) and evidence of a protective effect on well-being (β = 0.24; 95% CI 0.11–0.36, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (β = −0.37; 95% CI −0.52 to −0.21, p < 0.001), compared with non-course takers. Effects differed by gender, with women benefitting most, but were comparable across minoritised student subgroups.ConclusionsMental health literacy delivered as an accredited undergraduate interdisciplinary course is highly acceptable and associated with improvement in psychological coping and positive effects on student mental health and well-being. Future research should focus on more diverse student samples, underlying mechanisms and sustained effects.
published_date 2026-03-01T07:03:35Z
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