The impact of campus-based therapy dogs on the mood and affect of university students

University students experience a high level of stress, which could potentially affect how they manage stressful situations beyond university, such as when entering the workforce. Although universities offer counseling services and various health promotion programs, there is reluctance and negative perceptions about utilizing these from students. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of therapy dog interventions in human interactions that is quantifiable and embraces the elements of health promotion. This study aimed to investigate the impact of therapy dog interventions on students’ moods across a multi-campus university during a 2-week final examination period. Two hundred and sixty-five students participated in the study involving a multi-campus university. The intervention group and control group completed a questionnaire involving the positive affect negative affect schedule (PANAS), a 20-item scale that measures a person’s affect at the time. The intervention group (n = 170) had a higher average of total PANAS scores (mean = 77.63, standard deviation = 10.975) compared to the control group (n = 95) (mean = 69.41, standard deviation = 13.442). The results were statistically significant (mean difference = 8.219, 95% CI = 5.213–11.224, p < 0.05) with a t-score of 5.385. Students who engaged with therapy dogs on campus during the examination period were more likely to have a more positive affect. The results suggest that universities should include therapy dog programs within their health promotion programs for students, as these may help improve their mood and reduce the stress associated with university examinations

An exploration of the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia

Practising self-care is vital for foster carers to cope with the stresses of the caring role, provide the best care possible and continue in their task. This current study contributes to emerging research on the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia and worldwide. It used an exploratory design, surveying 148 foster carers about their self-care and conducting individual, semi-structured interviews enabling nine of them to elaborate on their self-care experiences. The results indicate that while the participants sometimes engage in self-care and value it as a way of maintaining their wellbeing and increasing their caregiving capacity, they face several barriers to doing this. These include the multiple responsibilities of the foster carer role, children’s commitments, employment and finances. Facilitators of self-care include social and family support, contact with other carers and carer respite. Foster care agencies and the out-of-home care system should aim to meet the self-care needs of carers by providing increased support, resources and education

Protocol : The effectiveness of sensory interventions targeted at improving occupational outcomes, quality of life, well‐being and behavioural and psychological symptoms for older adults living with dementia : a systematic review and meta‐analysis

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows:The primary objective is to systematically review the available evidence of theeffects of sensory interventions on quality of life, well‐being, occupationalparticipation, and behavioural and psychological symptoms of older adults livingwith dementia

Perceptions of participants on trial participation and adherence to Tai Chi : a qualitative study

Purpose: Trial participation and adherence to interventions can directly influence the evaluation of outcomes in clinical trials for real world applications. The factors that influence trial participation and adherence to Tai Chi interventions in people with cardiovascular diseases remains unknown. This study aimed to explore participants’ perceptions of influential factors on their trial participation and adherence to a Tai Chi intervention within a trial setting. Patients and Methods: Participants had coronary heart disease and/or hypertension in a randomized controlled trial comparing Tai Chi with a waitlist control. Data were collected via face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Thirty-four participants from the Tai Chi group who completed the randomized trial were interviewed. Six dominating themes and four sub-themes are discussed under the facilitators of internal and external motivation, positive feelings, benefits of Tai Chi and future practice with an overall internal motivation to improve health. Positive feelings had three sub-themes: positive feelings toward Tai Chi, the project, and the learning experience. The Tai Chi instructor(s) was found to be a crucial element in motivating participants’ adherence to Tai Chi. Conclusion: From the perception of participants, the facilitators to their trial participation and adherence to a Tai Chi intervention included internal and external motivation, positive feelings towards Tai Chi, the project and the learning experience, and perceived benefits of Tai Chi. Perceived barriers included concerns about the safety and complexity of Tai Chi practice, lack of group atmosphere outside of class, and scheduling conflicts. Future researchers can address these factors to improve trial recruitment and implementation of Tai Chi and other mind-body interventions in research and for real world applications

Co-Design of an Integrated Intergenerational Model: Uniting Generations Through Shared Spaces

This report sets out the findings from a research project to develop an intergenerational model of care at Uniting Westmead. We review relevant literature to understand what is already known about the impact of intergenerational care models on wellbeing and development outcomes for young children, older adults, other community members, and staff, and distil the core elements of program implementation that are most influential in determining positive outcomes. The research uses a combination of focus groups followed by a co-design workshop. From the research data we develop principles of practice for intergenerational care. Then, the report presents a Theory of Change, developed using a co-design process, which brought together researcher knowledge of the existing evidence, the practice wisdom of Uniting, the lived experience of the young children attending the early learning centre, the older adult residents, and their families and staff members as co-designers

Impact of online learning on sense of belonging among first year clinical health students during COVID‑19 : student and academic perspectives

Background: The need to belong is a fundamental human desire that provides the basis for relationships and community; it provides a sense of security that enables growth and development. This sense of belonging is pivotal to new University students, indeed, without it, students are at greater risk of failing or withdrawing from their studies. Yet developing a sense of belonging within a new cohort is complex and multi-faceted and further complicated by a sudden shift away from in-person to online learning. Using the situated-learning framework, our study explores first year clinical health students’ sense of belonging in the context of the rapid transition to online learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We utilised a current mixed-method approach including a survey incorporating previously validated tools, demographic and open-ended qualitative questions. Data was also gathered from three focus groups: two dedicated student groups and one academic focus group. Qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis whilst descriptive statistics were used to describe the quantitative data. Results: 179 first year students complete the survey and four students, and five academics were involved in the focus groups. All participants were from clinical health science courses at an Australian university. Our qualitative results indicated a global theme of: Navigating belonging during the COVID-19 crisis: a shared responsibility; with four organising themes describing (1) dimensions of belonging, (2) individual experiences and challenges, (3) reconceptualising teaching and learning, and (4) relationships are central to belonging. Conclusion: While the rapid transition to online learning did not greatly impact knowledge acquisition of first-year students in this cohort, the lack of sense of belonging highlights the need for further research into development of this essential aspect of learning in the online domain. Although contextualised in the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that the findings will remain relevant beyond the current situation, as a student’s need to belong will always be present in the face of challenges or change

Young people in foster care and their leisure : tools for living independently

The foster care environment, as a sub-set of Out-of-Home Care (OOHC), has been described as complex, regulated and one in which those in care have at times little or no control over important aspects of their lives. Indeed, it has been reported that young people in foster care are sometimes told by those in authority such as teachers that they need not concern themselves with ambition or aspiration because their life choices are already limited by their situation and their environment. Nevertheless, there are two sides to foster care and the second side involves supportive birth families, foster families, teachers, counsellors, case workers and friendships. As well, there is an inherent optimism among those in care reported by some authors. The research sourced data from twelve participants, aged between nine and sixteen years, living in foster care in NSW. Each participant represented a case study bounded (Miles & Huberman, 1994) by their individual leisure environment. The unit of analysis (Yin, 2018) for each case is the leisure experience of the participant. Data was gathered via a single semi-structured interview with each participant. The Ladder of Analytical Abstraction was used to analyse individual case study. Leisure was found to be a frequently used vehicle for the expression of this optimism, particularly with regard to the future

Navigating to greater opportunity

With the widely accepted view that the period of adolescence has expanded on both ends of the continuum, adolescence now begins earlier and starts later than previously reported. Adolescence is believed to be ended when a young person has reached independence. For adolescents in foster care, independence is reported to end at 18 years of age when an adolescent is discharged from Out-Of-Home care. This research used a salutogenic framework to explore adolescents in foster care and their leisure with the view of the potential impact leisure may have in regards to career and educational transition into adulthood. The research involved face to face interviews with adolescents in foster care and their guardians on leisure and an adolescents potential. The presentation will overview the final findings of the research project

Robotics programming kids for leisure

Children in out of home care (OOHC) in Australia are an unknown equation in relation to higher education. At present no Australian university collects enrolment data on students to see if they have previously been in care therefore there is no way of knowing the success of attending or completing higher education for a student who has been in the OOHC system. Children in the OOHC system are children under the age of eighteen years of age who the government has assessed at risk and in need of protection, by the state government (Australian Institute of Family Services, 2015). In 2009, a survey of education outcomes for 200 children and young people living in non-relative foster care and residential care in Victoria found that 23.7% had repeated a grade at school, 60.2% experienced a change of school, 18.1% did not attend school at all, 30.8% had wagged school in the past year and 14.7% of children surveyed had been suspended (Wise, Pollock, Mitchell, Argus & Farquhar, 2010). The University of Western Sydney aimed to address this very question by working with children in OOHC. In 2012, the KiC (Kids in Care) program was developed by the Western Sydney University to raise awareness and facilitate educational and career aspirations of children and adolescents in OOHC. Western Sydney University was aiming to address the increased university participation gap of children in OOHC through the use of leisure. At the core of the KiC club was the use of robotics technology facilitated through leisure education. Whilst the program has proven to be successful in the short term, the full outcomes of the program will not be known until the oldest KiC member reaches the age of university enrolment

Everyday Leisure

Health is a concept regularly heard but not discussed. This work highlights the use of everyday behaviours to create and resource leisure activities for health outcomes. Leisure does not belong to any particular group or class and is something rooted in the everyday and enables the development and maintenance of cultural and social capabilities and power. I contend that the resourcing for leisure for advantageous use can be found in the everyday, even in the adversity, ambiguity, complexity and ambivalence of all our lives