Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK.
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Aug 14;21(8):1066. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21081066.
Declining student mental health is a global public health issue. Campus-based animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are popular and effective interventions to prevent and alleviate symptoms. How to design, implement and evaluate evidence-based, student-centred interventions that enjoy sustained stakeholder buy-in and support is less known. This paper presents the procedures and results of a three-stage co-production method and the resulting curriculum of a novel AAI aimed at university students experiencing serious mental health problems. Stage 1 shaped the focus and structure of the intervention based on online student surveying (N = 204) and consultations with stakeholders (N = 10), including representatives of Student Well-being Services leadership, veterinarians, animal welfare charities and Therapets volunteers. In Stage 2, we conducted co-production workshops with post-graduate students (N = 6), developing the curriculum based on Stage 1 insights. In Stage 3, through iterative prototyping and student feedback (N = 22) the Paws on Campus programme was finalised, resulting in a series of four, one-hour themed sessions: (1) Thoughts and Feelings, (2) Well-being and Welfare, (3) Care and Compassion and (4) Problem Solving and Help Seeking. We describe the co-production method and resulting programme characteristics and provide considerations for others interested in developing effective and sustainable AAIs for their respective populations and contexts.
学生心理健康状况下滑是一个全球性的公共卫生问题。基于校园的动物辅助干预（AAI）是一种受欢迎且有效的干预措施，可预防和缓解症状。如何设计、实施和评估基于证据、以学生为中心的干预措施，使其获得持续的利益相关者支持和认可，这一点知之甚少。本文介绍了一个三阶段共同制定方法的程序和结果，以及由此产生的针对有严重心理健康问题的大学生的新型 AAI 课程。在第一阶段，根据在线学生调查（N=204）和与利益相关者（N=10）的咨询结果，包括学生福利服务领导、兽医、动物福利慈善机构和 Therapets 志愿者的代表，确定了干预措施的重点和结构。在第二阶段，我们与研究生（N=6）一起进行了共同制定工作坊，根据第一阶段的见解制定了课程。在第三阶段，通过迭代原型设计和学生反馈（N=22），最终确定了“校园之爪”计划，形成了一系列四个一小时主题课程：（1）思想和感受，（2）健康和福利，（3）关怀和同情，以及（4）解决问题和寻求帮助。我们描述了共同制定方法和由此产生的课程特点，并为其他有兴趣为各自人群和背景开发有效和可持续的 AAI 的人提供了一些考虑因素。
