Title: Exercise is medicine… and therapy? Evaluating an exercise intervention for post-secondary mental health
Supervisor: Dr. Guy Faulkner
Committee members: Dr. Jasmin Ma, Dr. Andrea Bundon
Abstract: Post-secondary student mental health is a serious concern with up to 70% of students reporting depressive symptoms (DeJonge et al., 2021). Unfortunately, average wait times to receive non-urgent psychiatric treatment in Canada is 22 weeks, which equates to longer than one academic semester (Barua et al., 2021). While depression is often treated through antidepressant medication and/or talking therapy, exercise is now recommended as an additional front-line monotherapy option for mild to moderate cases of depression (Ravindran et al., 2016). However, there is limited evidence on strategies for integrating exercise referral pathways into mental health care (Yates et al., 2020; Schmitter et al., 2020), particularly in a post-secondary setting (DeJonge et al., 2021). Informed by the Reach, Effective, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, the objective of this research is to conduct a program evaluation investigating the effectiveness of an on-campus evidence-based exercise referral program for post-secondary students with depression. Participants recruited will include post-secondary students with depressive symptoms who are seeking mental health treatment, exercise professionals (EP’s), and referring mental health providers. The intervention consists of a 6-week exercise program with one-on-one personal training running in collaboration with mental health services on-campus. In a single-arm pre-post pilot study, mixed-methods data will be collected including validated self-report symptom questionnaires (PHQ-9, GAD-7, IPAQ-SF, FS), and semi-structured interviews with participants, EP’s, and referral agents at the intervention’s conclusion. The results will inform future iterations of this program for post-secondary students on campus and will add to the literature on referral pathways between mental health practitioners and EPs for individuals seeking treatment for depression.