February 2022 marked the start of the THWS student health management, also known as healthy.studies. Among the known problems of student life are mental stresses like stress or examination anxiety. The prevention project is supposed to assist students by offering advice.
Published on 27 July 2023
Stress is one of the biggest health problems at German higher education institutions. This was already found by a study of the health insurer Techniker Krankenkasse six years ago. According to the study, anxiety and depressive symptoms are other common health issues of students. The effects of the Corona pandemic and current global developments are putting additional strains on the psyche. Thus, the need for low-threshold health offers is growing – in particular at higher education institutions and universities. "For one year, health insurances have been encouraged to implement health projects in different environments", says Ulrike Jaques of AOK Bavaria. "One of these environments is studying or the higher education institutions".
Healthy.studies at THWS
Funded by AOK Bavaria, the student health management started at THWS in February 2022. The third-party project, also known as healthy.studies, has since been the central contact point for students and their questions, problems, or concerns around health. The aim of the project: supporting students in increasing their wellbeing. According to Roxana Schweighart having direct contact persons was essential for a low-threshold support offer. She is one of the contact persons of healthy.studies. The other team members are Jessica Thätz and Lisa Demar.
Roxana Schweighart completed her bachelor's and master's at THWS. She is a social education worker, just like her colleague Jessica Thätz. Lisa Demar complements the team with the competences she developed during her psychology studies and the ones she is developing in her training to become a psychological psychotherapist. Together, the three are committed to minimising health-related problems among THWS students at the locations in Würzburg and Schweinfurt.
Offers and limitations of the project
The offers of healthy.studies include short counselling sessions in the form of one-on-one conversations, group offers, and leisure and running groups. The solution-oriented short counselling sessions are particularly popular among students. "Since the start of the project, more than 80 students have already made use of our one-on-one conversations", Lisa Demar says. In these cases, the team supports students with special needs regarding mental, physical, and social health. These might involve stress, problems with fellow students, but also physical problems like back problems. According to the advisors, the problems which came up the most were stress, sleep problems, and symptoms of depression. Psychological counselling or similar measures over a longer period of time could, however, not be offered within the framework of the project, says Roxana Schweighart. "Even though we all are experienced in dealing with people suffering from mental stresses, but as a prevention project our offers also have clear limits", she explains. Thus, when being contacted by a student, the team always ask themselves if the student health management is the competent contact point for the matter in question. If the case is too severe, in their opinion, or if therapeutic counselling is required, the projects capacities would be exceeded. That is why in such cases, the primary goal of the team was to support the students and direct them to the competent internal contact point or a regional facility.
One of these points of contact is the point of contact and information for students with disability and chronic illness of the University of Würzburg (Kontakt- und Informationsstelle für Studierende mit Behinderung und chronischer Erkrankung (KIS)). It is also responsible for THWS, and can in individual cases offer advice regarding a change of the examination type, or a deadline extension.
From yoga and running groups to nutrition counselling
Among the offers of healthy.studies are not only the popular one-on-one counselling but also group offers in Würzburg and Schweinfurt. Per unit up to 20 students can enrol via the project's E-Learning course. Those who only learn about the offer later on, will be placed on a waiting list and will be notified if one of the 20 registered participants cancels. The contents of the group offers are selected and constantly adapted according to constant student feedback. In the summer semester 2023, the offers included several yoga classes, one course for back health, and "Brainfood", a unit on nutrition.
Christina Hotz studies social work at THWS. She has already participated in two of the group offers. "Of all the yoga courses I have already tried, also outside THWS, I liked the one of healthy.studies the best", the student says. In addition to the yoga offers, she has already participated in Brainfood, the nutrition seminar of AOK. Thinking back, she particularly remembered the positive atmosphere and the practical exercises.
Not only does healthy.studies offer group courses but also the opportunity to join the project's running groups, each per THWS location, and the leisure group. While the running groups are instructed by a student assistant, the participants of the leisure group also meet without the healthy.studies team.
Looking ahead
"In future, we would like to put more focus on international students", Roxana Schweighart says. From her previous work at THWS she knew that this student group often faced multiple stress factors.
Another wish of the healthy.studies team was that the health management was more strongly involved in THWS structures. Thus, employees of the library have already been trained as "Mental Health First Aiders". In future, they will also be available as first points of contact for mental health questions. Posters saying "Talk to me, I'm a mental health first aider" are supposed to inform students passing the library about the offer.
As the third-party project funded by AOK is currently limited to a period of two years, the request will already expire in 2024. That is why Roxana Schweighart, Lisa Demar, and Jessica Thätz are currently filing a request for a new project. Because this is the only way to keep providing low-threshold offers for students on mental, physical and social health.
Open office hours:
In Würzburg: every Friday (except public holidays) between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.
In Schweinfurt: every Wednesday (except public holidays) between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.
Arrangement of appointments:
Phone: +49 931 3511- 9231
E-mail: gesund.studieren@thws.de
Location Würzburg:
Münzstraße 19 (Pavillon), room Z.P.1.3
Location Schweinfurt:
Johann-Modler-Weg 2, room 21.1.10 (Campus Ledward)
