Benefits for peer educators in delivering wellbeing education to agricultural students

Background: Effectively supporting and promoting mental health education for at-risk populations is crucial. In New Zealand, risks in relation to the suicide for young farm labourers, alongside the stress associated with the transition to university and the vulnerability of rural communities, place agricultural students in a vulnerable position. The use of peer educators has been identified as an important way of building connections in health and wellbeing education and increasing engagement and mental health knowledge. This article reports on the experiences of peer educators in delivering a mental health and wellbeing programme to agricultural students at two universities in New Zealand. Design: As part of evaluating a mental health and wellbeing programme, researchers sought to learn more about the experiences and learnings of peer educators. Drawn on findings from a wider mixed-methods study, this article reports on qualitative findings related to the use of peer educators. These findings emerged from semi-structured interviews with the peer educators involved in the delivery of the programme. Findings: Peer-led mental health and wellbeing programmes have benefits not only for the students participating but also for the peer educators leading them. These benefits include increased mental health knowledge, confidence and skills. In addition, the peer educators found value in delivering important mental health and wellbeing messages. Conclusions: Peer educators can benefit from the experience of delivering mental health and wellbeing programmes. Furthermore, they can be utilised to deliver these programmes with little prior knowledge of the topics they are delivering provided they have support from professionals with teaching and clinical expertise. These findings are important for informing the development and delivery of mental health interventions for at-risk communities looking to increase connectedness and build resilience