Who is accessing exercise programs for post-secondary student mental health? Exploring the reach and motives

Background: Research focused on the provision of on-campus tailored exercise programs for post-secondary student mental health is increasing. Yet, there is limited focus on process evaluation considerations (e.g., reach, engagement motives), which are important for optimizing program delivery and for the dissemination of research findings into practice. Purpose: To explore the reach (e.g., referral pathways, student characteristics, mental health challenges) and motives for engagement in a tailored 6-week exercise program for student mental health. Methods: Students were screened for eligibility (178 screened, 118 eligible) and the analytical sample included students who provided baseline descriptive data (N= 59; Mage = 26.09 years; 82% women; 30% international student). Motives for engagement were open-ended responses and coded using inductive content analysis. Results: Students primarily heard about the program through campus media marketing (29%) or were referred through campus mental health (29%) or student support (15%) services. Respondents reported a history of diagnosed mental illness (56%). Mental health challenges included anxiety (86%), trouble concentrating (74%), difficulty coping with stress in a healthy way (70%), depression (58%), and loneliness (44%). Motives for engagement were offered by 85% of students and included motivation and social support (30%), healthy routine building (22%), and learning strategies for improving overall mental, physical, and academic well-being through exercise (48%). Conclusions: The reach and motives for student engagement in a tailored exercise program for mental health were demonstrated. Practical implications: To optimize program delivery, it is critical to ensure support structures (e.g., training, guidelines, standards of practice) are available to equip program developers, researchers, and practitioners with practical tools and knowledge for delivering exercise programs for student mental health. Funding: Doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council held by MLD and an Inlight Student Mental Health Grant awarded to MLD and CMS. CMS holds a Canada Research Chair.