Reflections on the development and implementation of a university student health and well-being online survey: the BOOST-Well project

<ns3:p>Background First year university students may be at risk of poor health behaviours and outcomes. Unfortunately, online surveys assessing multiple aspects of the health and well-being of university students have poor response rates, meaning the representative of such data may be questionable. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to document the development and implementation of an online health and well-being survey of medical and allied health students with substantially higher response rates than reported in the literature. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was developed following recommendations to maximise the participation and response rates. All new students (defined as commencing a degree in May or September 2024) from undergraduate medical and postgraduate allied health programs from one Australian university were requested to participate. The survey included 136 items, most of which were validated questionnaires commonly used in national surveys. Participants were requested to complete the survey on their own device during scheduled class time within the first two weeks of their degree. Results Of 273 eligible students, 217 (79.5%) accessed the survey, with 201 (73.6%) completing it at least partially and 63.7% completing it fully. Median completion time was 14.4 (IQR: 12.3–16.8) minutes, and item-level response rates were high across disciplines. Differences in completion rates and survey duration were observed across disciplines, with occupational therapy students taking the longest to complete the survey. Conclusions The BOOST-Well survey achieved markedly higher response rates than comparable studies, with this likely reflecting student-informed survey design, concise format, strategic timing, and evidence-based recruitment and implementation strategies.</ns3:p>