Caroline Mahon
National Healthy Campus Coordinator, Higher Education Authority (HEA)
Prof Catherine Woods
Full Professor, and Chair of Healthy UL, University of Limerick (UL)
Ireland is emerging as an authority in higher-education (HE) health promotion, with a new framework designed to embed health and wellbeing across institutions.
Ireland is leading by example in supporting student health and wellbeing. It’s the only country with two national HE health and wellbeing policies: the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework and the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework.
Whole campus approach
Caroline Mahon, HEA’s National Healthy Campus Coordinator, explains how this is helping generate a wellbeing culture throughout universities. “It’s about creating conditions where students and staff can thrive — a whole campus approach goes much deeper than one-off health events. It embeds holistic policies and programmes that create a culture of wellbeing.”
Mahon continues, “We’re shaping future leaders, decision-makers, researchers, engineers, educators and health professionals, future change agents. There’s an opportunity to influence society, and higher education can proactively support wellbeing now and into the future’
Limerick Framework
At UL, Professor Catherine Woods and Healthy UL have developed the Limerick Framework for Action, a result of the International Health Promoting Campuses Conference, co-hosted by UL and HEA in June.
“The Limerick Framework helps institutions turn good intentions into measurable action,” explains Woods. “This document has been developed through consultation with over 500 global experts who were asked what HEIs should be doing to promote health, wellbeing and sustainability.”
Expert insight has been distilled into key considerations, including guidance on embedding wellbeing into governance, curriculum, services and the whole campus environment. Key elements include the UN Sustainable Development Goals, promotion of a healthy planet, places and people, and empowering students and employees to reach their full potential.
The Limerick Framework helps institutions turn good intentions into measurable action
Through the HEA, each HEI has signed up to implement the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework. Since 2020, specified funding has been allocated to institutions to support student mental health and wellbeing.
With Healthy Campus Case Studies to learn from, including UCC’s Everyday Matters, TCD’s Mind Body Boost or ATU’s Breakfast Club, the HEA is encouraging Irish institutions to think globally but act locally, showcasing Ireland as an international leader.
“We have an opportunity to galvanise the effort and energy of the global higher education sector,” highlights Woods. “By leveraging the network in Ireland alongside our international partners, examples of good practice can drive truly transformative and measurable change.”
The HEA Healthy Campus Self-Evaluation Tool allows institutions to measure their health and wellbeing efforts, supported by over 350 resources. This provides an overarching view of ethos, governance and specific health areas, promoting institutions’ accountability to a culture of health promotion.
