Increasing Emotional Well-Being in DNP Graduate Students Through Wellness Interventions for Life's Demands (WILD 5)

Background: Researchers suggest that health science college students report significantly lower well-being and self-care while having a higher incidence of mental illness than their age-matched peers. Self-care practices-exercise, mindfulness, sleep hygiene, social connection, and healthy nutrition-are holistic and personalized health interventions that improve mental wellness. The WILD 5 program is a 30-day, evidence-based program to improve mental wellness through self- care. The purpose of this project was to assess the need for and efficacy of the WILD 5 intervention on improving mental wellness among Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students at the University of Utah Local Problem: DNP students at the University of Utah appear to be typical of health science graduate students in neglecting self-care behaviors resulting in lower well-being and higher stress. Methods: This program evaluation project included developing an educational presentation to DNP specialty track directors on the high mental health risk and low self-care data for graduate health sciences students and introducing the modified WILD 5 program. These DNP track directors completed questionnaires about the need for a self-directed, self-care program for the University of Utah DNP students. DNP students then received a modified WILD 5 program presentation and voluntarily tracked their self-care over 30 days with an online tracking form. Participants completed pre-and post-intervention questionnaires to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of the WILD 5 program in encouraging self-care and improving mental wellness among DNP students. DNP track directors received an analysis of the results in a presentation and determined strategies to improve the feasibility and sustainability of the WILD 5 intervention. Results: Post-intervention, DNP students reported significant increases in the frequency of their daily exercise (100%), mindfulness (600%), sleep hygiene behaviors (314%), and social connectedness (155%). Also, participants experienced a 12.20% (p= 0.00031) increase in mean total mental wellness and a 14.87% (p= 0.00052) reduction in perceived stress. Many participants were satisfied with the modified WILD 5 program to facilitate self-care. Suggestions to increase feasibility included providing practical tips for scheduling self-care behaviors and a component of peer accountability during the 30-day trial. Conclusion: This project demonstrates preliminary positive evidence for graduate health sciences students using the modified WILD 5 program for daily self-care and increased well- being. However, further modifications are needed to improve the program's feasibility to accommodate demanding lifestyles and academics. Future projects must substantiate the project's findings and investigate what further modifications may be most beneficial.