MMI grant recipients to present SVN research at Mental Wellbeing in HE Conference

The recipients of the 2023 Mind Matters Initiative Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant are set to present their findings at the Mental Wellbeing in HE Conference run by AdvanceHE in Sheffield this month. 

The conference will explore evolving approaches to mental wellbeing within higher education, focusing on innovative strategies and practices that enhance the wellbeing of both staff and students. It will include contributions that address the challenges and complexities of mental health in education, including institutional responses to reasonable adjustments, crisis management, and trauma-informed pedagogies. 

Dr Faye Didymus (pictured top left) and Dr Jackie Hargreaves (pictured bottom left) from Leeds Beckett University, who have now completed their MMI funded research into how and where mental health education and principles are integrated into the curricula for veterinary nursing diplomas and degrees, are currently disseminating their findings and will share insights with delegates at the event. 

Their project entailed two phases: 

Phase one: this was a scoping review of mental health education within student veterinary nurse (SVN) curricula. Within this, curriculum documents already available online from veterinary nursing educational establishments for every provider of veterinary nursing were reviewed. Further information about taught mental health content was also obtained via an online survey of VN tutors. 

Phase two: the research progressed to a deep exploration of mental health education and mental health experiences via interviews with SVNs, VN tutors, and qualified VNs. Thematic analysis was used, and the findings were triangulated with the three groups: VNs, SVNs, and VN tutors. These findings considered the current experiences of SVNs, VN tutors, and VNs both during their education and in practice and how these learnings could inform future recommendations for mental health curricula design. 

Data from the scoping review and interviews are now being used to generate a set of recommendations that aim to enhance the provision of mental health content within VN curricula. These recommendations could support current students whilst in further education (FE) or higher education (HE), whilst on placement, and during their future careers. 

In addition to presenting at the Mental Wellbeing in HE Conference in Sheffield on 14 May, Dr Didymus and Dr Hargreaves will also be sharing their research at the MMI Mental Health Research Symposium in Birmingham in October 2025.  

Further funding opportunities that will allow the researchers to build on their recommendations from this project are currently being explored. 

Their set of recommendations is due to be published in due course. 

Do you have an idea for a veterinary mental health research project? Targeted at researchers at all career stages, applications for our second round of MMI research grants are now open, closing on Wednesday 28 May at 11.59pm. For more information, please visit our Mind Matters website.