2.4. Recruitment and Procedure
RECRUITMENT
Every eligible undergraduate student at La Source and HEIG-VD received information from their respective university about the study. In the meantime, posters, each universities’ website, and social media were used to promote the study.A written invitation letter with a link and QR code was sent by mail to each student eligible to participate in the study. The mail also included detailed information about the study, a consent form, and an envelope for the latter to be returned. A second invitation letter was sent via email. Each participant received a username and a three-digit password to access the online survey. Those assigned to the intervention group were asked to choose class periods during which they could attend the program.By October 2019, both the intervention and control groups completed a baseline survey developed to assess their basic knowledge about mental health and attitude towards mental illnesses, as well as their own mental health status. The MHFA/ensa training program was conducted among the intervention group from October to December 2019. Afterwards, the first follow-up survey was conducted 3 months after the intervention was completed, and a final follow-up survey was conducted 12 months after the intervention and roughly 13 months after the baseline survey for both groups. For each survey, both groups received emails with a link to respond the online questionnaires. Reminder emails were sent to those who had not yet responded to the assessment two weeks after the link was sent at each time point.The recruitment procedure and participants are presented in 