Ngā tūtohu o te hauora | Wellbeing indicators

To measure the impact of Ki te rā, we need to understand the state of student wellbeing for both current and potential future students.

The framework is informed by several wellbeing studies.

The World Health Organisation—5 Wellbeing Index (WHO-5)

This Index provides a useful evidence-based tool for self-reporting current states of wellbeing. It measures subjective wellbeing over the last two weeks.

To measure the state of student wellbeing, in the Te Herenga Waka Student Voice—Have Your Say Survey we use the WHO-5 along with additional health and wellbeing questions recommended by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU).

While our current wellbeing indicators are useful, the literature now acknowledges that wellbeing and illbeing coexist and are not simply opposites of each other. We do not currently clearly measure illbeing and this could be considered in future to recognise that students harbour thoughts, often simultaneously, of wellbeing and illbeing.

The outcomes, objectives, and primary actions of Ki te rā have been designed to decrease student illbeing and harm, and increase student wellbeing and safety.

Te Herenga Waka student wellbeing indicators

The annual Student Voice—Have Your Say Survey provides us with useful wellbeing indicators.

The results from the 2023 survey found that less than half of students at Te Herenga Waka reported their current emotional wellbeing, mental health, ability to manage stress, get the weekly exercise they need, or get the nightly sleep they need as good or very good. Slightly more than half described their ability to eat a balanced and nutritious diet, and their current physical health as good or very good.

The average score for students at Te Herenga Waka on the WHO-5 score was 12 out of 25. 45% had a score of 13 or higher indicating good to excellent wellbeing; Fifty-six percent had a score of 12 or lower indicating poor wellbeing. This result is similar to the results from 2022.

Aotearoa tertiary student mental health

The Kei Te Pai? Report on Student Mental Health in Aotearoa (New Zealand Union of Students’ Association, 2018) outlines the state of tertiary students’ mental health. Its findings show that young tertiary students (16 to 25 years old) are experiencing poor wellbeing and mental health issues that have “a serious impact on their academic achievement and quality of life”.

In navigating a unique set of struggles, such as student loans, a challenging course workload, and substandard living conditions, “young tertiary students are experiencing significantly greater distress levels than what is found in the young ‘non-student’ population.” Pasifika students and older tertiary students were found to experience significantly lower levels of distress than their peers, however, they made up only a small percentage of the sample surveyed by the New Zealand Union of Students’ Association. Levels of psychological distress for Māori respondents and Pākehā were almost the same in this study.

Aotearoa youth wellbeing indicators

The state of youth wellbeing at a national level is a concern as we prepare for future students. Youthline’s 2023 State of the Generation report found that 75 percent of youth surveyed said mental health was the biggest issue facing their generation.

The Ministry of Social Development’s 2021 What About Me? nationwide survey of young people stated that: “The mental health results present a worrying picture of high need for young people and show a deterioration compared to results from past surveys...In the last twelve months, just under half had felt so overwhelmed they could not cope [49 percent], and that life was not worth living [41 percent]. One-quarter had seriously thought about suicide [26 percent] and 12 percent had attempted it. Results for all questions were significantly worse for female, disabled, and rainbow young people and worse for most questions for rangatahi Māori.”

Go back to explore more of the framework.