Undergraduate student perceptions of course-based mental wellness trainings

Undergraduate students pursuing healthcare careers have elevated stress levels. Equipping them with effective stress reduction and stress management techniques may reduce the negative effects of chronic stress and ensure their professional and personal success. The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ perceptions of a course-based mental wellness program, with the goals of indirectly measuring the efficacy of the program and its success at equipping present students with stress management strategies. Students enrolled in an Advanced Physiology of Exercise course participated in four mental wellness trainings taught by campus mental health clinicians during class time (~20 min each). Following the completion of the final training, students were administered an anonymous, open-ended essay prompt asking about their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the intervention. Responses were incentivized through the addition of extra credit (0.07% of their final grade). Using a grounded theory approach, the initial coding included analyzing each line of text to extract active, specific short codes from 159 responses; initial codes guided the development of descriptive categorical themes in the findings. The findings indicated the successful incorporation of the presented stress management techniques and lower perceptions of stress by most students. Unexpected findings included an increased likelihood of seeking professional campus counseling and potential to decrease collective burnout. Many students offered feedback on ways to improve future mental wellness trainings. Integrating mental wellness trainings into undergraduate coursework can reduce perceived stress, encourage professional help-seeking, and potentially mitigate burnout, supporting students’ long-term well-being and success in healthcare careers.