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Abstract Background High prevalence rates of distress and burnout in medical students are well-documented in mental health literature. Different types of interventions have been developed in the past in order to reduce stress in medical undergraduate students and promote better coping skills. There is, however, a paucity of studies that have tested the effectiveness of these interventions. This study aimed to examine the effect of different versions of the seminar ‘Coping with stress’, which was implemented in the first year of the undergraduate curriculum of the Medical University of Vienna in the summer semester of 2018, on students’ mental health. Methods Invitations to participate in the study were sent via email to six cohorts of students from the Medical University of Vienna. Two cohorts participated in the onsite version of the seminar ‘Coping with stress’, whereas two cohorts participated in the online version of the seminar, and two cohorts received no intervention (control group). Data on burnout risk, life satisfaction, stress, and knowledge about available help resources were collected via online questionnaires from n = 137 students before and after the curriculum module that contained the seminar. Results Medical students who participated in the onsite seminar reported a reduction of some aspects of burnout, a decrease in stress, and an increase in knowledge about available help resources. No such effect was seen in the control group. Participants of the online seminar experienced a similar increase in knowledge about available help resources, but no changes in other outcomes. Conclusions The findings support the notion that the onsite seminar of ‘Coping with stress’ had a positive impact on medical students’ mental health and is a useful addition to the medical curriculum by promoting mental health literacy. Trial registration This research has been registered in the German Clinical Trial Registry with the registration number DRKS00018981 and the registration date 14/11/2019.

Abstract Background Young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer as well as other sexual/gender minorities (LGBTQ+) persons have higher rates of suicidal ideation and behavior compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers, particularly during their coming out. The “It Gets Better” project is a multi-national media campaign that aims to reduce suicide among LGBTQ+ adolescents by providing personal narratives of hope delivered by mainly adult LGBTQ+ persons. There is only little knowledge so far on how young LGBTQ+ people as well as experts in suicide prevention and counseling perceive these videos, and how to potentially improve the videos based on their perceptions. Methods A total of n = 19 LGBQ+ adolescents and young adults and n = 9 experts participated in focus groups to discuss perceptions of a selection of “It Gets Better” videos. Eight focus groups were conducted to assess perceptions on the process of watching the videos, possible effects on young LGBQ+ viewers in general, and suicidal LGBQ+ youth in particular, as well as factors that were relevant to their perceptions. Results Messages were found to be helpful in terms of promoting hope. LGBQ+ youth identified several key strategies to increase identification with messages, which they considered crucial for their effectiveness. Criticism emerged from a perceived lack of diversity in terms of portrayed sexual identities, and some shallowness in the portrayal of suicidal ideation and how things can get better. The experts’ perceptions of the videos were largely consistent with LGBQ+ youth, highlighting a positive potential of videos to support coming out and identity building processes. Conclusions Young people and experts view the videos as helpful and relevant, but identified several strategies to better tailor them to the needs of LGBTQ+ adolescents, including suicidal peers. The insights gained are useful to the increasing number of suicide prevention projects using personal narratives of coping delivered via media to help prevent suicide.