Table I.
Description of the stress preventive initiatives in the HHS study
| Initiatives | Description | Delivered by | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational initiatives | |||
| Curriculum | The curriculum consisted of teacher manuals and curricular activities for first-year students including assignments and reading material. Stress was included in 5 out of 15 lessons: 4 mandatory lessons and 1 optional lesson (in total, 405 min). The stress lessons were designed to change social norms and cognitive factors such as knowledge, awareness and outcome expectancies and planned for two subjects (Social Studies and Introduction to Natural Science). | Teachers | August 2016 to May 2017 |
| Time management initiative | The aim was to introduce students to time management tools. A week before the course, students were asked to record how they spent their time on an hourly basis in a standardized time management worksheet. The course also provided students with information about how to maintain high energy levels throughout the school day. The project group suggested that the course was conducted either in each class separately or for all first-year students collectively in an auditorium. | Student counsellors | September/October 2016 |
| Environmental initiatives | |||
| Stress policy | The school management received a policy template and was encouraged to involve the student council, teachers and other relevant participants in developing the policy and to adopt a clear action plan with tasks, responsible persons and a timeline. | School management, student council, teachers and other relevant school staff | August 2016 to May 2017 |
| Half-yearly counselling sessions | The aim was to support student well-being, to identify or prevent potential academic, social and emotional problems among students and to ensure that students got the proper support if needed. | Student counsellors | September/October 2016 and February/March 2017 |
| Annual coursework plan | An overview of the annual workload (placement of e.g. homework and assignments) giving students the opportunity to plan and manage their time realistically. Coursework plans should include dates for handout of assignments, assignment due dates and time and expected amount of time needed to complete the assignments. | Teachers | August/September 2016 |