This study aimed to describe the prevalence and determinants of financial precarity and examine its associations with mental health, healthcare avoidance and academic outcomes among French health students.

Nationwide cross-sectional study based on an online self-administered questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with financial precarity.

All 34 French health universities.

A total of 12 565 health students participated, including medical (56%), paramedical (21%), midwifery, odontology, pharmacy or physiotherapy students (12%) and first-year health students (11%).

Financial precarity was defined as an indicator combining financial insecurity, frequent overdrafts and foregoing essential purchases. Primary outcomes included depressive symptoms, anxiety and emotional exhaustion. Secondary outcomes included healthcare avoidance and academic outcomes.

Among 12,565 respondents, 56% were medical students, 21% were paramedical, 12% midwifery, odontology, pharmacy or physiotherapy and 11% first-year health students. Financial precarity varies by academic fields of health, ranging from 4.6% in first-year health students to 12% in paramedical students. Adjusted analyses showed lower odds of precarity among medical (aOR=0.69; 95% CI 0.52 to 0.83), midwifery, odontology, pharmacy or physiotherapy (aOR=0.55; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.72) and first-year health students (aOR=0.54; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.77) than paramedical students. Risk factors included very low parental socio-economic status (aOR=2.96; 95% CI 2.33 to 3.89) and student loans (aOR=2.78; 95% CI 2.33 to 3.32). Financial precarity was strongly associated with depressive symptoms (aOR=4.90; 95% CI 4.13 to 5.80), anxiety (aOR=3.84; 95% CI 3.13 to 4.52), emotional exhaustion (aOR=8.49; 95% CI 5.98 to 12.06), renouncing healthcare (aOR=6.21; 95% CI 5.01 to 7.70) and repeating a year (aOR=1.80; 95% CI 1.54 to 2.10).

Financial precarity among health students is shaped by economic and academic factors, with family support protective of and low socio-economic background increasing vulnerability, and is associated with poorer mental health, reduced healthcare access and academic difficulties.

Admission to a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) following major surgery is associated with a number of discomforts, not only related to the disease itself but also to the care provided or the ICU environment itself (lights, sounds, pain, sleep deprivation, thirst, etc). This discomfort is real and can be associated with psychological consequences. We hypothesised that the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) with HypnoVR is feasible and can help reduce discomfort in intensive care.

The ZION trial is a prospective, monocentric trial randomising 194 patients admitted to a surgical ICU after a major surgery. The inclusion criterion is patients admitted to a surgical ICU for at least 48 hours following major surgery (cardiac, thoracic or major abdominal surgery). Patients will be allocated to the intervention group (n=97) or the control group (n=97). In the intervention group, patients will receive IVR using HypnoVR two times a day during the ICU stay (2–5 days). In the control group, postoperative care will be conducted according to standard care without IVR. The primary endpoint will be the 18-item IPREA (Inconforts des Patients de REAnimation) questionnaire on the day of ICU discharge. The secondary endpoints will include intensity of discomfort symptoms (anxiety, pain, dyspnoea, thirst and sleep deprivation); the 18-Item IPREA Questionnaire assessed daily from randomisation to the V1 follow-up visit (ICU discharge); incidence of delirium; cumulative morphine consumption at ICU discharge; length of ICU stay and anxiety or depression at 1 month after discharge from intensive care and patient experience of device use.

Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board of the University Hospital of Amiens (Registration number ID: 2024-A01528-39) in January 2025.

NCT06830369.