Promoting well-being at school, university, and workplaces: an overview of reviews of interventions to enhance well-being in three contexts

This overview of reviews aimed to identify and describe existing learning paths and interventions to improve well-being and its dimensions in three contexts: secondary school, university, and workplaces. We searched four databases (APA PsycInfo, Proquest, Scopus, Web of Science), limiting the search to the years of publication 2009–2024 and English language. Using a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria, following PICOS scheme, we selected 13 records for the school context, 12 records for the work context, and 4 records for the university context. The quality of the reviews and meta-analyses included in this study was assessed. An analysis of the results for the three contexts is provided and discussed. Results across the three contexts reveal that the papers rarely refer to the theoretical frameworks on well-being and often focus on specific techniques or approaches. The emphasis on mental distress is still predominant and affects the research’s theoretical and methodological approach and the intervention design. There is no universally effective strategy for implementing interventions: interventions with different characteristics (e.g., duration, number of sessions, etc.) can produce positive outcomes, and integration with other programmes sometimes seems to enhance their effectiveness. Critical issues concern the insufficient training of professionals involved, as well as the fidelity of interventions’ implementation.