To combat the growing number of health issues affecting college students today, colleges and universities have greatly expanded the range of health services they offer-tackling everything from fitness and stress management to alcoholism and smoking cessation.
Unfortunately, these robust programs are often hindered by inadequate and aging health-care facilities.
But now, some institutions are battling back with facilities that make student health a top priority. By establishing prominently placed student health centers on campus, they're creating a welcoming, inviting setting that's more than functional. Schools like Penn State, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have all recognized that building better facilities means better service and, in turn, healthier students.
And it's not just about improving student health. These facilities also help attract new recruits, reinforce campus values about health, and add academic value by providing research and resource opportunities.
"Gone are the days when there was just a nurse handing out aspirin," says Kevin Kruger, associate executive director of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). "Campuses today recognize that student health issues are directly
connected to student retention and academics, requiring a more sophisticated response and room for comprehensive services."
The New Challenge:
Mental Health
With physical education on the decline and child obesity rates on the rise, today's young people are experiencing a greater number of health problems, including diabetes, asthma, and hyperactivity, according to the National Institutes of Health. Combine that with a societal fixation on image and health, and you get a college population that not only has more medical issues, but also has an enhanced awareness of the importance of their own health and well-being.
In 2005, more than 81 percent of college students reported experiencing one or more health-related problems-anything from allergies or anxiety to back pain or bronchitis-according to the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). The most common health factors that students reported affecting their studies: stress, colds, sleep difficulties, concern for a troubled friend or family member, and depression or anxiety. (See "Top 10 Medical Issues Reported by College Students" and "Top 10 Factors Affecting Student Performance," p. 80).
"In general, students are more aware of health issues, so factors like stress and sickness consistently make the top of the list," says E. Victor Leino, ACHA's director of research. "What's surprising is the increased role that mental health has come to play."
According to ACHA-NCHA data, in 2000 only 10.3 percent of college students reported being diagnosed with depression, while in 2005 that number increased to 16 percent.
"Gone are the days when there was
just a nurse handing out aspirin."
-Kevin Kruger, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
"We're seeing more and more mental health issues on campuses nationwide," says Karen Moses, co-chair of the Health in Higher Education Knowledge Committee of NASPA and director of wellness and health promotion for Arizona State University's Student Health and Wellness Center. "More high school and elementary students are being diagnosed with serious mental illnesses, meaning we're seeing more conditions-and different types of conditions-than we had in the past."
This reality has led to an increase in mental health programs as well as partnerships between health services and counseling services on many campuses.
"A lot of campuses are looking at how health centers can link with counseling centers and are beginning to look at wellness as a concept, instead of mental versus physical health," Moses says. At the same time, administrators want to meet the expanding needs of a larger number of students but have to work with old facilities the school has outgrown.
Health-The Main Attraction
The Pennsylvania State University, for example, is trying to serve the needs of 42,000 students in a facility constructed to serve 10,000.
"Our building was built in 1929, when the school served a tiny number of students," says Peg Spear, director of Health Services. "It was expanded in 1953 when there were between 10,000 to 12,000 students, but even with a major renovation in the mid-'90s the overall size of the building hasn't changed. We've done everything we can, but we've known for at least a decade that the university would have to build a new health services building."
