Introduction: Universities are an essential setting for creating health promoting environments. Evidence shows that university life can pose various threats to the students' health. Especially first year students are vulnerable to mental health issues. To support well-being and prevent psychological distress from the first day of studying, onboarding programs are needed to promote the students' health and their self- and social competencies. The study demonstrates a tailored multi-component onboarding intervention program named “Healthy Study Start.” An evaluation of the effectiveness is presented focusing on outcomes regarding the students' sense of coherence (S-SoC), social support, sympathy, the work-related collective and the participative safety (a sub-scale of the team climate) among freshmen at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS, Austria).Methods: For the analyses, a quantitative controlled study design was used and results were measured three times. The intervention group (n = 72) was composed of freshmen selected from the bachelor study programs Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Biomedical Science and Radiologic Technology. Freshmen from the bachelor study program Healthcare and Nursing formed the control group (n = 81). As the requirements for analyses of variance were not fulfilled, the data had to be analyzed using e.g., Mann-Whitney U-tests.Results: Significant changes (all p < 0.016) between the two groups were found between T0/T1, and between T0/T2. Furthermore, changes within the intervention group (all p < 0.016) emerged in nearly all outcomes between T0/T1, while within the control group no changes were identified. However, the intervention group had statistically significantly higher values in the majority of outcomes at T1 and T2 compared to the control group.Conclusion: The onboarding program “Healthy Study Start” shows how an initiative at the beginning of their studies can support students in entering a new phase of their lives. The results indicate a positive effect on the students' self- and social competencies. However, students' health promotion is not only an investment for a health conscious university or an enhanced employability. Especially in health-related fields of study, students are future multipliers and play an essential role in implementing health promotion concepts for clients, patients and employees.

There is a lack of intervention promoting physical activity targeted toward people living with dementia because their input has not been prioritized in the development of exercise programs. The aim of this study is to investigate motivators and barriers concerning physical activity in people living with dementia in care homes and to give recommendations for intervention development. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted; transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Following a tailored procedural model, inductive and deductive category development was applied. The value of Cohen’s κ = .94 indicates the high intercoder reliability of the category system developed. Ten interviewees reported 24 different barriers and 12 motivators concerning physical activity in the context of the social-ecological model. The strong impact of intrapersonal factors and the living environment became apparent. Points of reference for how people living with dementia can overcome barriers and activate their motivators to achieve more physical activity are provided.

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Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Aufgrund der COVID-19-Pandemie waren Hochschulen gezwungen, schnellstmöglich auf Onlinelehre umzustellen. Berufsbegleitend Studierenden, welche etwa im Gesundheitsbereich tätig sind, muss die Vereinbarkeit von der 100 %igen Umstellung auf E‑Learning und vollen Anwesenheit in einem systemerhaltenden Beruf gelingen. Zielsetzung Ziel der Studie ist es, die Herausforderungen von im Gesundheitsbereich tätigen berufsbegleitend Studierenden zu explorieren, Veränderungsnotwendigkeiten aufzuzeigen und Handlungsempfehlungen für die Hochschule abzuleiten. Methode Mittels Onlinefragebogen und offenem Antwortformat wurden Herausforderungen, Vor- und Nachteile, welche sich durch das E‑Learning ergeben, und Verbesserungsvorschläge an der Fachhochschule Kärnten (FHK) erhoben. Die Daten wurden mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring ausgewertet. Ergebnisse Die wohl größten Herausforderungen, mit denen berufsbegleitend Studierende zu kämpfen haben, sind das selbstorganisierte Lernen bzw. die (termingerechte) Bewältigung der, oft als zu umfangreich empfundenen, Arbeitsaufträge und das selbstständige Erarbeiten von Lehrinhalten. Weiters berichten die Studierenden über Schwierigkeiten in der Vereinbarkeit von E‑Learning mit Beruf und/oder Familie. Schlussfolgerung Die empfundenen Herausforderungen sind grundsätzlich nicht neu, aber unter COVID-19 bedeutsamer denn je, da noch zusätzliche familiäre Verpflichtungen, aber auch Unsicherheiten im Arbeitsalltag dazukommen. Gerade jetzt sollten Lernumwelten, wie sie Hochschulen berufsbegleitend Studierenden derzeit online bieten, als „caring spaces“ verstanden werden. Neben neuen didaktischen Konzepten sollte auch in die Förderung von Selbst- und Sozialkompetenzen der Studierenden investiert werden.

Background. Loneliness is a prevalent global public health issue, and this topic is also common among university students. From a health-related, resource-oriented approach like the salutogenic model, loneliness can be interpreted as a potential stressor. To cope effectively with this stressor, a strong Sense of Coherence is needed to mobilize resources like social support. Interventions to promote health and wellbeing within a university setting should include a salutogenic focus. However, currently, research regarding salutogenesis within the higher education setting is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to make the first attempt to explore the relation between loneliness and the Students' Sense of Coherence (S-SoC) among university students. Methods. An online questionnaire was sent out to all university students from the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS), Austria. The online questionnaire was completed by 584 students (response rate of 28.86 %); 67.3% were female, and the average age was 25.16 years ( SD = 6.27 years). Full-time students made up 75.6% of the sample, and 84.6% were in a Bachelor's degree program. The S-SoC and the sub-scales comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageability were measured by using the valid S-SoC scale (Brunner et al., 2009). Social and emotional loneliness was measured by using the six-item De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale (Jong Gierveld & van Tilburg, 2006). Spearman correlations and Kruskal-Wallis H-tests were computed among all loneliness and S-SoC sub-scales and other variables (e.g., age, sex...). Furthermore, a graphical model was used to show structural relationships between loneliness and S-SoC and control variables. Results. The results showed that students feeling moderate or severe general loneliness had lower S-SoC scores than students feeling low or not general lonely. Manageability was a pivotal point in this model, as it was inversely proportional to both measures of loneliness. Perceived social loneliness was reported most by men and part-time students. Conclusion. In order to fulfill study-related demands, students activate appropriate resources (e.g., social support), which corresponds to low social and emotional loneliness. However, in the development of health promoting interventions against loneliness among students, it would be necessary to consider sex and mode of study and to address health needs and problems with a salutogenic focus.