Co-designing and implementing an inclusive wellness room to promote mental health in a Canadian university: a mixed-methods study.

Abstract

Objective: Universities face psychological distress, while mental health services remain inaccessible to marginalised populations. This highlights the need for low-threshold mental health interventions beyond clinical care. Wellness rooms offer spaces for stress reduction, yet few have been developed through participatory approaches or evaluated systematically. This study documents the co-design and restricted implementation of an inclusive, multisensory wellness room in a Canadian university. Participants: University students and staff participated in the co-design and implementation process. Methods: Guided by Living Lab and action-research principles, the project was conducted in two phases using a mixed-methods design. Analyses examined feasibility, acceptability, facilitators, and barriers to implementation and use. Results: Facilitators included multisensory environments, flexible usage, and participatory design. Implementation challenges highlighted organizational and contextual constraints affecting accessibility and sustainability. Conclusions: Findings support wellness rooms as low-threshold mental health promotion interventions and underscore the importance of participatory, context-sensitive approaches to their implementation in university settings.