Undergraduate students’ experience regarding wellness support services at universities offering health sciences programmes

Students experience academic stress when confronted with high academic workloads while adapting to university life. Studies have found that health science programmes place additional academic stress on students. Student support is an important measure implemented by universities to minimise student dropouts, reduce failure rates and enable success in academic departments in health science universities. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of undergraduate students regarding student wellness support services implemented by universities as an intervention measure to assist students in health sciences to cope with academic demands and stress. An explorative descriptive qualitative design was employed to explore and describe the experiences of undergraduate students regarding academic student support services. Students studying towards a health science undergraduate degree at three universities in the Gauteng Province, South Africa, were recruited by email to participate in the study. Purposive sampling was used, and nineteen students consented to participate in the study. The data were collected between November 2023 and April 2024 through synchronous online focus groups that followed a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data analysis, where transcribed data were coded, and units of meaning were grouped to formulate themes. Three themes emerged, namely: (1) support service indicators, (2) student support challenges and (3) holistic wellness support provision. The study revealed that students experience academic stress, thus signaling a need for academic support. However, students face barriers when accessing support, as universities also face limitations in providing adequate support. Universities should enhance holistic wellness support provision to foster a supportive environment that boosts the accessibility of services to meet the diverse needs of the students.