SHIELD-Framework: Informal Help-Seeking Barriers in Health Professions Students, 2018-2024

946 students completed a survey and 26 students participated in interviews in a sequential, mixed-methods study conducted at Radboud University Medical Center from 2018 to 2024. The research identified six key barriers to informal help-seeking, forming the SHIELD-framework (Stigma, Harm, Inutility, Ego, Load, Disapproval). Author Annemieke G. J. M. Smeets published the findings under a CC-BY-4.0 license.

Use Cases

• Analyzing latent patterns in student help-seeking behavior based on the mixed-format survey design.
• Modeling the influence of the SHIELD-framework barriers (Stigma, Harm, Inutility, Ego, Load, Disapproval) on student well-being.
• Developing educational interventions to normalize vulnerability based on the identified personal and contextual barriers.
• Comparing help-seeking motivations across gender, program, and year of study as described in the findings.

Strengths

• Mixed-methods design combining qualitative insights from 26 interviews with quantitative data from 946 survey responses.
• Study spans a six-year period with two distinct phases of data collection (2018-2024).
• Provides a conceptual framework (SHIELD) derived directly from student-reported barriers.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the underlying survey data is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is specific to one institution (Radboud University Medical Center), which may limit generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands

Collection Method

Sequential mixed-methods study involving one-on-one interviews and a survey developed from interview findings.

Time Range

2018-2024

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-19 08:34:22; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Netherlands