Coaching interventions among healthcare students in tertiary education to improve mental well-being: A mixed studies review

Abstract

Objectives: To consolidate the available evidence regarding healthcare students' experiences of coaching interventions' effect on their mental well-being in tertiary educational institutions.

Design: A mixed studies review.

Data sources: Seven electronic databases were searched for relevant studies from their inception dates until July 2021: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Review methods: This review observed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and was guided by Pluye and Hong's (2014) framework for mixed studies review. Quality appraisal of included studies was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A convergent qualitative synthesis design for mixed studies reviews was adopted to analyze all findings and thematic analysis was conducted according to Braun and Clarke's (2006) framework.

Results: Three themes and seven subthemes are generated from the 12 included studies. The main themes are: 1) Receiving much-needed help, 2) Unlocking the secrets of success, and 3) Way forward for coaching in healthcare education.

Conclusions: Many students benefited from the coaching interventions in terms of academic, emotional and psychological support and received guidance in professional development. However, careful preparation of both coaches and students is needed to improve the success of coaching interventions. Future coaching interventions could incorporate both group and individual sessions, assign students to coaches based on their clinical interests and consider conducting online coaching sessions using video calls. Improvement of study rigor would be required to achieve more accurate results. Lastly, future studies should be conducted on healthcare students of more diverse disciplines and cultures to increase results' generalizability.

Keywords: Coaching; Education; Experiences; Healthcare students; Mental well-being; Review; Tertiary education.