College Student Health Research

The health and well-being of college students is a primary concern of college parents and families. These sources provide comprehensive insights into the health trends of college students.

A couple of essential highlights to be aware of:

 

Many students are not insured.

  • In 2009, Lookout Mountain Group estimated at leat 4.3 million college students were uninsured.

Lookout Mountain Group, Analysis and Policy Recommendations for Providing Health Insurance and Health Care Services for the College Student Population http://www.hbc-slba.com/LMG/LMG_abstract_3.5.pdf

  • Due to provisions in the Affordable Care Act, this number has likely fallen significantly.

HHS, ASPE Issue Brief, June 19, 2012 http://aspe.hhs.gov/aspe/gaininginsurance/rb.shtml

 

Not being insured means students carry significant financial risk:

  • In 2008, more than 1 in 10 uninsured students had a chronic condition requiring regular medical treatment.
  • Nearly 37% of uninsured young adults were carrying medical debt in 2007.

GAO report, 2008 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08389.pdf

  • 62.1% of bankruptcies in 2007 were at least partly caused by problems involving health care debts.

Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007:Results of a National Study by David U. Himmelstein, MD, Deborah Thorne, PhD, Elizabeth Warren, JD, Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH Department of Medicine, Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass; Department of Sociology, Ohio University, Athens; and Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass.

 

 

 American College Health Association

These invaluable reports detail the incidence rate of various health issues and decisions among the college populace, while also reporting the academic impacts of these issues.

 


Student Life & Health:

  • A May 2012 eHealth survey revealed that 43 percent of students visited an emergency room for personal care in the past four years.
  • 12% of college students withdrew or had a close friend withdraw during the past 2 years due to a medical event or family death (Spring 2012 Student Monitor Financial Services Survey)
  • 45% of college students worry about their health (HERI at UCLA: CIRP's YCFY Survey).
  • Students reporting a diagnosis of…
    • a chronic health condition: 4.9% (Spring 2012 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment Reference Group Executive Summary)
    • mononucleosis: 1.9% (ibid)
    • In the last 12 months…
      • 10.7% of respondents were treated for strep throat (ibid)

 

 

College Students report a significant rate of mental illness, depression & anxiety.

 

  • 30.3% of all students surveyed stated that they felt so depressed that it was difficult to function at some point during the past 12 months.
  • 21.2% of all college students reported being diagnosed with or being treated by a professional for at least one mental health condition (including psychiatric problems, addictions, and eating disorders) within the last 12 months.
  • 12.0% of college students surveyed report having been diagnosed or treated by a professional for anxiety within the last 12 months.
  • 11.1% of college students surveyed report having been diagnosed or treated by a professional for depression within the last 12 months.
  • 7.3% of all students report having both depression and anxiety.

American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary 2011. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association.

 

 

 

 American College Health Association

 

 

Student Health Presentations by College Parents of America

 

 

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