Exploring the daily life experiences of UCC registered doctoral [PhD/ MD/ Practitioner Doctorate] students and how the UCC “Everyday Matters: Healthy Habits for University Life” digital badge impacted their daily life and well-being
Background - Poor mental health and well-being among university students, including doctoral students, is a growing concern globally. Engaging in occupations every day and maintaining occupational balance is believed to improve health and increase well-being. However, little is currently known about the daily life, occupational balance, and well-being of doctoral students. Whole university approaches to promoting student well-being and success are urgently needed, along a continuum of support including universal, targeted, and intensive interventions. The “Everyday Matters: Healthy Habits for University Life” digital badge (EMDB) is an occupation-based time-use and well-being universal intervention offered to doctoral students as a cocurricular micro-credential at University College Cork (UCC). This study explored and described the daily life experiences of doctoral students and how pursuing their degree impacted their occupational balance and well-being, as well as examined doctoral students’ experience of participating in the EMDB. Method - Purposive sampling methods were used in this qualitative interpretive descriptive study to recruit 10 UCC PhD/MD/Practitioner Doctorate students who completed the EMDB. Data were generated through individual semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was completed. Findings - Doctoral students have a range of roles, responsibilities, and occupations that they need to and want to engage in on a daily basis. For many, balancing their daily occupations and roles alongside their doctoral degree is challenging. Undertaking a doctoral degree can have both a positive and negative impact on well-being. The EMDB successfully supported the daily lives and well-being of doctoral students. Conclusion - Obtaining an insight into the perspectives and experiences of students allows a better understanding of the students’ doctoral journey. Supporting the well-being of doctoral students is essential to enhance their doctoral journey and assist them in successfully completing their degree.
Doctoral student, Daily life, Time-use, Well-being, Occupational balance, Occupation-based intervention
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