Higher stress, supported less? A systematic review of stress reducing interventions involving higher education students with accessibility requirements and/or disability

The stress experienced by higher education students with accessibility requirements and/or disability has implications for their learning, achievement, and health. This systematic literature review explored stress reduction interventions trialled with students with accessibility requirements and/or disability from 2011 through mid-2025. A total of 3,874 articles were identified through Academic Search Premier, Education Research Complete, Psychology and Behaviour Sciences, and CINAHL, and 25 articles were eligible for inclusion. Only nine of these focused primarily on stress reduction; the remaining 16 included stress as a secondary outcome. The extent to which these interventions were equitably accessible and inclusive for a diverse range of students was unclear. Furthermore, a limited number of interventions were trialled with students with physical disability, chronic health conditions, or specific learning difficulties. All identified interventions were targeted at the individual level, requiring students to develop skills or engage in an activity to reduce their stress levels. No interventions identified within the scope of this review focused on reducing academic stressors in the educational environment. Future research should explore the effects of reducing academic stressors and strengthening the accessibility and inclusion of interventions.