Student Stress Management and Wellness Programs among Colleges of Pharmacy
Open accessAbstract
Objective: To describe the programmatic stress-related interventions that colleges of pharmacy are providing for their students. Methods: A paper-based questionnaire was distributed to 80 college teams who attended two consecutive offerings of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy institute focused on promoting student well-being. The five-part questionnaire consisted of: 1) tracking and assessment of perceived student stress levels, 2) the types and formats of stress-coping interventions that are offered, 3) the measured impacts of any stress-coping interventions, 4) the level of faculty/staff training and involvement in student stress remediation, and 5) institutional demographics. Results: Of the 40 college teams responding to the survey there were similar numbers of private (44%) and public (56%) institutions. More than half (57.5%) reported measuring student stress levels. The most common interventions offered were counseling (95%), academic advising (82%), physical exercise support (77%), and relationship building activities (70%). Topics offered in the curriculum were most often related to handling substance abuse (50%), time-management (45%), and finances (40%). A majority (79.5%) of schools reported they do not offer formal training on student stress and mental health to faculty and staff and do not formally assess the impact of stress and coping interventions. Conclusion: Colleges of pharmacy are addressing student stress and well-being, yet variability exists in terms of assessment, interventions, and didactic offerings. Multiple barriers to improvement remain and mediating barriers and determining assessments for coping and interventions may be next steps for Colleges of Pharmacy.
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Many institutions lack formal training for faculty on student mental health and do not assess the impact of stress interventions effectively.
“However, many institutions lack formal training for the faculty on student mental health and do not assess the impact of stress interventions effectively [347,348].”
From Comprehensive review of chronic stress pathways and the efficacy of behavioral stress reduction programs (BSRPs) in managing diseases. (2024) · cites this paper as [347]
A survey of colleges of pharmacy revealed efforts to address student stress through counseling, academic advising, physical exercise support, and relationship-building activities.
“A survey of colleges of pharmacy revealed efforts to address student stress through counseling, academic advising, physical exercise support, and relationship-building activities.”
From Comprehensive review of chronic stress pathways and the efficacy of behavioral stress reduction programs (BSRPs) in managing diseases. (2024) · cites this paper as [347]
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Cites
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- Authors
- Arif, S., Moran, K., Quinones-Boex, A., & El-Ibiary, S.
- Affiliations
- Midwestern University (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Arif, Sally
- ORCID
- Arif, Sally
- Venue
- INNOVATIONS in pharmacy
- Publisher
- University of Minnesota
- Published
- 2021-04-30
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 14
- ISSN
- 2155-0417 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8326698
- OpenAlex
- W3162208878
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- INNOVATIONS in pharmacy (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
- Keywords
- student stress, student well-being, pharmacy schools, student mental health, counseling services, academic advising, faculty training, stress measurement, pharmacy education, substance abuse education, time management
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