SynthesisEvidence-based mental health2019
Effectiveness of universal programmes for the prevention of suicidal ideation, behaviour and mental ill health in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Evidence-based mental health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevention of self-harm and suicide in young people up to the age of 25 in education settings.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of mindfulness interventions on stress in medical students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Mindfulness-based psychological interventions for improving mental well-being in medical students and junior doctors.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Perceived stress, stressors, and coping strategies among nursing students in the Middle East and North Africa: an overview of systematic reviews.Systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Suicide among physicians and health-care workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Mental health and burnout among Swiss medical students living in contexts of deprivation: a longitudinal study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Improvement of medical students' stress, dispositional mindfulness, well-being and flourishing during the first academic year of a medical curriculum integrating a well-being longitudinal strand.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Help-seeking behavior among college students with suicidal ideation: barriers, facilitators, and social actors.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2026Article
- ACTIVATE: A protocol for a randomised controlled evaluation of Thumos: A cognitive-behavioural intervention for medical students.PloS one · 2026Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of suicide and their correlation with depression and anxiety among medical students: a Saudi multicenter study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Interventions to promote medical student well-being: an overview of systematic reviews.BMJ open · 2024Review
- Reboot coaching programme: a mixed-methods evaluation assessing resilience, confidence, burnout and depression in medical students.Scottish medical journal · 2024Article
- Factors Associated with Motivation in Medical Students: A 30-Month Longitudinal Study.Medical science educator · 2022Article
- Scoping review of 30 years of suicide prevention in university students around the world: efficacy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2022Article
- A positive mental imagery intervention for targeting suicidal ideation in university students: A pilot study.Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2022Article
- The Need, Feasibility and Willingness to Explore "Meditation on Twin Hearts" as a Self-administered Tool for Mental Health Management among Transgender Women: An Exploratory Survey.Community mental health journal · 2022Article
- Mindfulness mediates the relationship between positive parenting and aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation: A longitudinal study in middle school students.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Response to college students' mental health needs: a rapid review.Revista de saude publica · 2022Review
- The roles of emotional intelligence, neuroticism, and academic stress on the relationship between psychological distress and burnout in medical students.BMC medical education · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
questionA growing body of work suggests that medical students may be particularly at risk of mental ill health, suicidal ideation and behaviour, resulting in recent calls to develop interventions to prevent these outcomes. However, few reviews have synthesised the current evidence base regarding the effectiveness of these interventions and provided guidance to improve future intervention efforts. STUDY SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: The authors conducted a systematic review to identify studies of any design reporting the effectiveness of any universal intervention to address these outcomes in medical students. Embase, MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched from their respective start dates until 1 December 2017.
findingsData from 39 studies were included. Most investigated the effectiveness of relatively brief interventions designed to reduce stress; most commonly using mindfulness-based or guided meditation approaches. Only one implemented an intervention specifically designed to address suicidal ideation; none investigated the effectiveness of an intervention specifically designed to address suicidal behaviour. Five investigated the effects of curriculum-level changes. Overall, there was limited evidence of an effect for these programmes at both the postintervention and longest follow-up assessment on depression, anxiety and stress.
conclusionsRelatively brief, individually focused, mindfulness-based interventions may be effective in reducing levels of anxiety, depression and stress in medical students in the short term. Effects on suicidal ideation and behaviour, however, remain to be determined. There has been a significant lack of attention on organisational-level stressors associated with medical education and training.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.