Background Anxiety and depression have been on rise in Chinese medical students due to the heavy academic pressure of medical practice and the deteriorating doctor-patient relationship in China. The psychological well-being of the Chinese medical students has become a critical focus of attention for the medical education community. Increasing evidence showed that positive psychology interventions can be effective in the enhancement of psychological well-being, and may help to prevent depressive symptoms in university students. In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential effect of positive psychology education on improving the mental health of Chinese medical students. Methods An 8-week classroom-based positive psychology intervention workshop, which was set as a selective course embedded in the regular school curriculum, was performed at School of Medicine, South China University of Technology (SCUT), China. Undergraduate medical students of the institute at year-2 or year-3 academic study took part in this training course voluntarily. Self-report data on hope scale, life satisfaction scale, subjective happiness scale, as well as depression and anxiety scale were collected and analyzed at pre-course (n=61) and post-course (n=49) among the participants. The investigation was also validated in an independent cohort of students who enrolled in the course in the following year of the preliminary study. Results The analyses showed that the psychology well-being of the participants were improved after the intervention. Their mean scores on hope scale, life satisfaction scale and subjective happiness scale were significantly improved (P<0.05), while the symptom levels of depression and anxiety were significantly reduced (P<0.01). Similar trend was also observed in the validation cohort. Conclusions These preliminary findings suggest that positive psychology education holds promise for improving the psychological well-being among Chinese medical students. Further investigations in larger and well-controlled sample cohorts may yield more convincible and reliable results.

Background Anxiety and depression have been on rise in Chinese medical students due to the heavy academic pressure of medical practice and the deteriorating doctor-patient relationship in China. The psychological well-being of the Chinese medical students has become a critical focus of attention for the medical education community. In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential effect of positive psychology education on improving the mental health of Chinese medical students. Methods A total of 49 undergraduate students (mean age =19.5 years old) at their year-2 and year-3 medical study in our institute were enrolled in an 8-week positive psychology training course, which was embedded into a regular school curriculum. Their hope scale, life satisfaction scale, subjective happiness scale, as well as depression and anxiety scales were measured before and after the training program, respectively. Results The analyses results showed that over 95% of the participants reported an improved mental status after the training program. Their positive emotions, including hope, life satisfaction and happiness, significantly increased, while the negative emotions, including depression and anxiety, were significantly relieved. Conclusions These evidence suggest that positive psychology education holds promise for increasing the mental well-being and reducing psychological distress among Chinese medical students. Further research is required to demonstrate the efficacy of this program using larger representative sample cohorts.

Background Anxiety and depression have been increasing among Chinese medical students. The psychological well-being of Chinese medical students has become a critical focus of attention for the medical education community. Increasing evidence shows that positive psychology interventions can be effective in the enhancement of psychological well-being, and may help to prevent depressive symptoms in university students. In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential effect of positive psychology education on improving the mental health of Chinese medical students. Methods An 8-week classroom-based positive psychology intervention workshop, which was established as an elective course embedded in the regular school curriculum, was conducted at the School of Medicine, South China University of Technology (SCUT), China. Undergraduate medical students of the institute in year-2 or year-3 of academic study participated in this training course voluntarily. The participants’ self-reported data on the hope scale, life satisfaction scale, subjective happiness scale, and depression and anxiety scale were collected and analyzed at pre-course (n=61) and post-course (n=49) times. The investigation was also validated with an independent cohort of students who enrolled in the course in the year following the preliminary study. Results The analyses showed that the psychological well-being of the participants were improved after the intervention. Their mean scores on the hope scale, life satisfaction scale and subjective happiness scale were significantly improved (P<0.05), while their symptom levels of depression and anxiety were significantly reduced (P<0.01). A similar trend was observed in the validation cohort. Conclusions These preliminary findings suggest that positive psychology education holds promise for improving psychological well-being among Chinese medical students. Further investigations with larger and well-controlled sample cohorts may yield more convincing and reliable results.