A study by the Wellington School of Medicine has identified the top 10 movies that describe common mental health problems, which can be used as a valuable teaching resource by fourth year medical students.  Check it out here, if you are interested.

Our current online well-being survey will end on Sunday 7 September, so don't forget to complete your survey by then!


Best wishes,
OWIUS Team

We hope you are enjoying your mid-semester break and have found it relaxing so far.

Here is a  list of ways of being mindful,  compiled by the Mental Health Foundation, which you might find interesting.

Thank you to all of our participants who have enrolled and completed their first online well-being survey.  Your feedback and commitment to the study are much appreciated by the OWIUS team :) 

We have also noted that some of you are having a difficult time and we hope that the list of resources and suggestions you would have received from us by email on completing your online survey will help you to get the support you need.  If you would like to contact us directly to discuss any aspect of the study or your responses, please feel free to use the contact form and email us in the first instance. 

We look forward to hearing from you and receiving your survey responses in the next few days!.

Best wishes,
OWIUS Team

The 2014 OWIUS study has been launched today and is underway until the end of august. Those of you who are invited to participate have until the end of august to complete the first (1 of 2) questionnaire. We hope that you get a lot out of doing the survey, and we are looking forward to analysing the results and seeing what trends emerge. We again would like to thank those of you who have supported the 2014 study, and also all of the participants of this year's study for your time and responses.   Regards from the OWIUS Team :)

This week, an article was published on findings from the internationally acclaimed Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which clearly showed that people who attempt suicide by age 24 are at high risk for developing a range of mental and physical health and social problems in adulthood. These findings, which also involve our studies on self-harmful behaviours reported by the Dunedin Study members over the past decade, highlighted the importance of providing effective support by health and welfare services as well as the community to reduce the risk of suicidal or self-harm behaviours in this particular group of young people.  For a summary of the study and its findings, please click here.  We hope you will find ways to apply these findings in your own communities to help people who are vulnerable and feeling down, especially at this time of the year when many tend to experience an increase in their stressful life circumstances. Please feel free to use our sources of help  and fact sheets and external links on this website. You may also like to read about an interview with Dr Sidra Goldman-Mellor on this study and its findings here.

Best wishes
The OWIUS Team

We would like to thank all of our participants who completed their well-being surveys and provided us with valuable feedback on the study.  We are compiling a set of initial findings for participants and participating residential colleges and hope to send a copy to you by email in December.  We hope that the findings will help to inform the various pastoral care programs in residential colleges at Otago in 2014.

We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate two participants who each won an iPad mini in the raffle we held recently and hope they are enjoying using their new iPads!

With examinations now over for all students at Otago University, we would like to wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable summer break. 

Best wishes,
The OWIUS Team

We are pleased to let you all know that the online well-being survey is now underway.  Please check your email inbox for our invitation to take part in the survey if you took part in this study last year. If you did not take part in last year's study, you are welcome to take part in this year's study by registering your interest for the study using the form on this website or responding to an email from your College Warden who has already or will soon be forwarding our email invitation to all College residents. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us via our study email address.  The online survey will be available for you to access until the end of September.

We look forward to having your participation and feedback on the study.  Main findings from this project will be available by the end of this year.

Kind regards,
The OWIUS Team

Welcome back to our OWIUS 2012 participants, Residential Colleges, University owned Flats and new students at Otago University.

Since completing our health and well-being study last year, we have been analysing responses from the surveys and compiling findings for Colleges to improve student well-being.  A summary of our key findings to date will be forwarded to our participants soon. 

This year in response to a request from Residential Colleges and our participants in 2012 who commented that they found the study helpful, we have initiated a follow-up study on well-being.  Please keep an eye on your email inbox for an email invitation to take part in this year's study.  You can also register your interest for the study by filling out a brief form by clicking here. All participants will be eligible to win one of two iPad minis in a raffle.

We hope you will enjoy this year's online well-being study and look forward to having your participation.

Best wishes,
The Owius Team
Department of Preventive & Social Medicine
University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

We would like to wish you all a safe and happy festive season and holidays and all the very best for the New Year. Many thanks to all of our student and RA participants and Wardens, Deputy Wardens, and Kiwi Hosts at Otago University for their support and participation in the pilot study this year.  We had a successful meeting with Wardens and Deputy Wardens this month at which we presented some key findings from the pilot study for RAs and students on well-being and are looking forward to compiling the full set of findings for all participants and Residential Colleges in the New Year.  Congratulations to our three students/RAs who won an iPad each in the raffle we held recently!  We look forward to working with you all in the New Year to improve student well-being and implement some strategies in this regard at Residential Colleges at Otago University as well as  publish findings from this year's study.

Best wishes,
The OWIUS Team