Physical and mental health issues facing community college students

J Am Coll Health. 2022 Apr;70(3):891-897. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1776716. Epub 2020 Jun 22.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine health concerns among community college (CC) students by (1) identifying and coding the self-reported health issues facing CC students and (2) examining demographic and psychosocial variables associated with health categories. Participants: 946 CC students (Mage = 26.37) recruited from January 2017 to February 2017 who completed a screening survey for a larger study. Students were asked to "List three health issues facing Community College students today." Methods: Health issues were coded into broad categories and subcategories. Results: Among the 2,601 health issues reported, one-third were medical health (36%), one-third were mental health (33%), with substance use (14%), other health (14%), and access to health care (3%) also reported. The most commonly identified health issues were "general medical issues," "stress," "depression," and "sleep." Conclusions: Programmatic efforts to support CC students and promote prevention/intervention strategies for mental health, sleep, substance use, access to health care, and general medical concerns, remain essential.

Keywords: Community college; medical; mental health; substance use.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Humans
  • Mental Health
  • Students* / psychology
  • Substance-Related Disorders*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Universities