gms | German Medical Science

Gemeinsame Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Medizinische Ausbildung (GMA) und des Arbeitskreises zur Weiterentwicklung der Lehre in der Zahnmedizin (AKWLZ)

05.08. - 09.08.2024, Freiburg, Schweiz

Effects of the Mental Health Promotion Seminar ‘Coping with Stress’ in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum of the Medical University of Vienna

Meeting Abstract

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  • Benedikt Till - Medical University of Vienna, Unit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria
  • presenting/speaker Angelika Hofhansl - Medical University of Vienna, Department of Medical Didactics, Teaching Center, Vienna, Austria
  • Thomas Niederkrotenthaler - Medical University of Vienna, Unit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria

Gemeinsame Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Medizinische Ausbildung (GMA) und des Arbeitskreises zur Weiterentwicklung der Lehre in der Zahnmedizin (AKWLZ). Freiburg, Schweiz, 05.-09.08.2024. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2024. DocV-19-03

doi: 10.3205/24gma073, urn:nbn:de:0183-24gma0735

Veröffentlicht: 30. Juli 2024

© 2024 Till et al.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). Lizenz-Angaben siehe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Gliederung

Text

Objective: High prevalence rates of distress and burnout in medical students are well-documented in mental health literature. Different types of interventions have been developed in the past in order to reduce stress in medical undergraduate students and promote better coping skills. There is, however, a paucity of studies that have tested the effectiveness of these interventions. This study aimed to examine the effect of different versions of the seminar “coping with stress”, which was implemented in the first year of the undergraduate curriculum of the Medical University of Vienna in the winter semester of 2017/2018, on students’ mental health.

Methods: Invitations to participate in the study were sent via email to six cohorts of students from the Medical University of Vienna. Two cohorts participated in the onsite version of the seminar “coping with stress”, whereas two cohorts participated in the online version of the seminar, and two cohorts received no intervention (control group). Data on burnout risk, life satisfaction, stress, and knowledge about available help resources were collected via online questionnaires from n=137 students before and after the curriculum module that contained the seminar.

Results: Medical students who participated in the onsite seminar reported a reduction of some aspects of burnout as well as a decrease in stress and an increase in knowledge about available help resources. No such effect was seen in the control group. Participants of the online seminar experienced a similar increase in knowledge about available help resources, but no changes in other outcomes.

Discussion The findings support the notion that the onsite seminar of ‘coping with stress’ had a positive impact on medical students’ mental health and is a useful addition to the medical curriculum by promoting mental health literacy.