An Evaluation of an Online Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention in Higher Education: A Pilot Conducted at an Australian University and a British University

Abstract

Mental ill health among higher education students is a well-established problem; therefore, it is imperative to implement preventative approaches to support wellbeing. Blended and fully online education programmes widens access for mature or returning students; however, the psychological wellbeing of this sub-group of students is under-researched. Finally, evaluating wellbeing interventions that meet the needs of university students as well as accessible for online students is required. The aim of this study was to evaluate a brief, online and mindfulness-based intervention to assist the self-management of wellbeing and stress for both online and on-campus higher education students. The total sample included 427 participants (96% psychology students) at Monash University, Australia (n=283) and King’s College London (n=144), with 152 participants completing the whole study. Participants were allocated to a brief, self-guided, online and mindfulness-based intervention (over the course of one study period; n=297), or to a wait-list control group (n=148). Baseline and end of semester questionnaires included the 14-item Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and the 15-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Regression modelling revealed the intervention condition accounted for up to 12% of the variability in change in student wellbeing, stress and mindfulness between the start and end of semester (when controlling for baseline). These findings support the implementation of a brief, online and asynchronous mindfulness-based intervention for supporting student mental health and psychological wellbeing. An on-going challenge in practice includes engaging and maintaining student engagement in wellbeing initiatives.

Online Isha Upa Yoga for student mental health and well‐being during COVID‐19: A randomized control trial

“…Tunuguntla et al's (2021) study of yoga app users also had higher retention rates than our intervention, but it recruited current app users and participants, whereas our study recruited students who were mostly new to Isha Upa Yoga or yoga altogether. Our retention and attrition rates were more similar to those of other online and self‐paced RCTs for mental health (Chung et al, 2021; van't Hof et al, 2021). Finally, the fact that more than half of the control group dropped out by Week 4 suggests that aspects of our study design (such as completing extensive surveys for various measures at weekly, biweekly, and monthly intervals) may have had an important impact on retention on both the intervention and control groups.…”

A Self-Managed Online Mindfulness Program in a University-Wide Learning Management System Orientation Site: A Real-World Ecological Validation Study

“…The current study builds on the findings from Chung et al (2021), where the quasi-experimental evaluation supported a brief, online, mindfulness-based intervention for the wellbeing, perceived stress and mindful attention of on-campus and fully online students. The current study evaluated a large institutionwide implementation of a mindfulness-based program that is accessible fully online via a tertiary institutions' Learning Management System (LMS), and housed within the universitywide student orientation site.…”

“…There is significant evidence supporting the benefits of mindfulness for improving anxiety, stress, and wellbeing in both university and/or non-clinical samples (e.g., Kaviani et al, 2011;Demarzo et al, 2017;Cavanagh et al, 2018;Querstret et al, 2018;Chung et al, 2021). Although the mechanisms of mindfulness interventions are complex and also not fully understood yet, it has been established that mindfulness impacts on two main biological pathways (Creswell and Lindsay, 2014;Creswell et al, 2019).…”

“…The Monash Online Mindfulness Program was developed based on established evidence-based mindfulness-based interventions including Chung et al (2021). This program can be categorised as a MBSH intervention due to its online nature and relatively little practitioner involvement (Cavanagh et al, 2014).…”

“…Cronbach's alpha in the current sample was 0.90, and is considered high and acceptable. The WEMWBS has been used in evaluations of MBIs such as in Galante et al (2018), Clarke and Draper (2020), Chung et al (2021), andTrottier et al (2021).…”