'It's like Taking a Sleeping Pill': Student Experience of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) to Promote Health and Mental Wellbeing.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is purposely elicited by some individuals to promote health and mental wellbeing. The aim of the current study was to explore how ASMR is used and its perceived benefits in a student population. We employed semi-structured qualitative interviews, with eight female students who self-reported as ASMR-sensitive users. Inductive thematic analysis, underpinned by a phenomenological framework, was applied to the data. Two themes, each with three subthemes, were identified; these highlighted the journey from first discovering ASMR to present experience and the use of ASMR to promote health and mental wellbeing both directly and indirectly. For some, ASMR was used daily, whilst for others it was used in a relapsing-remitting fashion: usage increased when struggling with mental wellbeing and was most often used as a tool to induce sleep or distraction when feeling anxious. Participants also reported ASMR-eliciting content as intriguing, and that the phenomenon was regarded as taboo. ASMR appears to play an important role in promoting health and mental wellbeing; frequency of use, preferred triggers, and purpose of use varied, highlighting its flexible and subjective nature. It provides a potential cost-effective tool in populations such as students where mental health needs are burgeoning.

Rapid Knowledge Mobilization and Continuing Professional Development: Educational Responses to COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: The field of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has a role to play in supporting health care professionals as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the evolving science of COVID-19, the need for quick action, and the disruption of conventional knowledge networks pose challenges to existing CPD practices. To meet these emergent and rapidly evolving needs, what is required is an approach to CPD that draws insights from the domain of knowledge mobilization (KMb). METHODS: This short report describes a research protocol for exploring rapid KMb responses to COVID-19 at one Canadian academic teaching hospital. The proposed research will proceed as a case study using a mixed methods design collecting quantitative (surveys and Web site use metrics) and qualitative data (interviews) from individuals involved in developing, using, and supporting the KMb resources. Analysis will proceed in two phases: descriptive analysis of data to share insights and integrative analysis of data to build theory. RESULTS: Results from this study will inform the immediate KMb and CPD contribution to the COVID-19 response. DISCUSSION: Findings from this study will also make a broader contribution to the field of CPD, theoretically informing intersections between KMb and CPD and therefore contributing to an integrated science of CPD.