INTRODUCTION The academic environment can negatively impact the mental health of undergraduate students, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study aimed to describe the methodological and operational aspects of a study on the health and well-being of undergraduate students: The SABES-Grad project. METHODS This was a nationwide cross-sectional study divided into two data collection strategies: a unicentric on-site collection carried out in 2019 at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG) and a multicenter, multilevel, online data collection carried out in 2020/2021 at the FURG, Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Amazonas State University (UEA) and the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE). The main outcomes of interest were depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety, and suicide risk. RESULTS A total of 996 students participated in the data collection in 2019 (63.8% females; median age of 22 years; response rate of 85.2%) and 5,720 students participated in the 2020/2021 collection (66.7% females; median age of 22 years; response rate of 84.3%). Significant variations in the socioeconomic and demographic structure were observed between the universities. Approximately one-third of the sample had been tested for Covid-19 in 2020/2021, of which 7.8% tested positive. CONCLUSION The SABES-Grad project was the result of collaborative work between several actors from public universities in Brazil. Several aspects of the preparation and conduction of this research were discussed in terms of its originality and relevance. Barriers, limitations and strategies adopted to overcome them were also presented.
A Study on the Health and Wellness of Undergraduate Students (SABES-Grad): Methodological aspects of a nationwide multicenter and multilevel study overlapped with the Covid-19 pandemic.