Alotaibi Naser M, Alenezi Latifah, Ahmad Feddah M, Almutairi Wadha, Alshammari Dhuha, Alenezi Manal, Alotaibi Moudhi
Occupational Therapy Department, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 31470, Sulaibekhat, 90805, Kuwait.
Physical Therapy Department, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 31470, Sulaibekhat, 90805, Kuwait.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 12;15(1):16461. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01633-8.
The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of a stress management program among students at the Health Science Center (HSC), Kuwait University. This study utilized a quasiexperimental research design in which the participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: (1) the control group or (2) the experimental (intervention) group. The participants received a comprehensive educational seminar relevant to stress management (i.e., a presentation, written hand-outs and a structured home program). The program addressed nine topics pertaining to stress management strategies: breathing and imagery techniques; self-care routines; planning for success; meditation strategies; monitoring mechanisms for coping; seeking help for mental health, exercise and health; cognitive behavioral therapy tips (CBTs); and psychoeducation. The demographic data along with using two validated tools were collected through online google form; the validated tools were: (1) the Perceived Stress Scale and (2) the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. Nonparametric tests, including Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Kruskal‒Wallis tests, were used to investigate statistically significant differences between the median scores of the control and intervention groups (p values < 0.05). Ninety-eight participants participated in the stress management program (56 participants in the intervention group and 42 in the control group). There was a significant improvement in stress and depression in the intervention group compared with the control group (p values < 0.05). With respect to the value of the stress management program, additional online postintervention survey questions were filled out by the intervention group; 82.1% (n = 46) of the intervention group agreed that the stress management program was useful, and 89.3% (n = 50) agreed that they would recommend that other students utilize this program regularly in the future. In conclusion, in this study, we developed, implemented, and evaluated the effects of a stress management program among HSC students. The program improved HSC students' mental health while reducing their depression and stress levels. Most importantly, the study findings presented here were feasible and could provide important information that can be applied to future studies and used as invaluable mental health resources for students at different university programs. Thus, future studies with larger representative samples and true randomized controlled trials are needed to consolidate our findings concerning the value of such scientifically driven and culturally relevant stress management program.
本研究的目的是探讨压力管理计划在科威特大学健康科学中心（HSC）学生中的有效性。本研究采用了准实验研究设计，参与者被随机分配到两个组中的一组：（1）对照组或（2）实验组（干预组）。参与者参加了一场与压力管理相关的综合教育研讨会（即一场讲座、书面资料和一个结构化的家庭计划）。该计划涉及九个与压力管理策略相关的主题：呼吸和意象技巧；自我护理日常；成功规划；冥想策略；应对监测机制；寻求心理健康、锻炼和健康方面的帮助；认知行为疗法小贴士（CBTs）；以及心理教育。通过在线谷歌表单收集人口统计学数据以及使用两种经过验证的工具；经过验证的工具为：（1）感知压力量表和（2）抑郁、焦虑和压力量表-21。非参数检验，包括威尔科克森符号秩检验和克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验，用于调查对照组和干预组中位数得分之间的统计学显著差异（p值<0.05）。98名参与者参加了压力管理计划（干预组56名参与者，对照组42名参与者）。与对照组相比，干预组的压力和抑郁有显著改善（p值<0.05）。关于压力管理计划的价值，干预组填写了额外的在线干预后调查问卷问题；82.1%（n = 46）的干预组同意压力管理计划有用，89.3%（n = 50）同意他们会建议其他学生在未来定期使用该计划。总之，在本研究中，我们开发、实施并评估了压力管理计划对HSC学生的影响。该计划改善了HSC学生的心理健康，同时降低了他们的抑郁和压力水平。最重要的是，这里呈现的研究结果是可行的，并且可以提供重要信息，可应用于未来的研究，并作为不同大学课程学生宝贵的心理健康资源。因此，需要进行更大代表性样本的未来研究和真正的随机对照试验，以巩固我们关于这种科学驱动且与文化相关的压力管理计划价值的研究结果。
