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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Campus and workplace health programs are necessary to prevent and treat health problems, and
improve public health as a whole. There has been an increase in many physical and mental diseases. This
includes obesity, obesity related conditions, and depression among college aged students. Our research
compared the current statistics and programs in place at many universities in the United States and
Canada with those at Wayne State University.
Despite the efforts of many campuses, a large amount of students still do not meet the physical
activity levels recommended by national guidelines. There are often barriers to mental health programs,
like stigma, and a lack of knowledge of available resources (Heck et al., 2014). It seems that our research
shows similar barriers present here at Wayne State University (WSU). Participation is low in many
programs because students often do not know about them. Use of Wayne States Academica has been a
beneficial tool for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) in order to reach out to students.
Overall Wayne State could benefit greatly if they improved the awareness of the programs at hand, and
implemented additional programs to achieve higher rates of participation in wellness programs.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction.5
2. Method....7
3. Results.8
4. Discussion.11
5. Conclusions...........13
6. Recommendations.....14
7. References.............15
iv
Section 1
INTRODUCTION
Campus health and wellness is a very important issue and concerns the entire university. Students
must be able to lead healthy lives while maintaining the rigorous coursework given to them. Obesity and
the associated chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia have increased
significantly among teens and those in their twenties (Sparling, 2007). In 2005, three out of ten students
were overweight. Mental health issues may have also increased significantly; forty-four percent of
campus counseling center directors noted severe psychological problems in 2010, an increase from
sixteen percent in 2000 (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.). In 2010, forty-five-point-six
percent of students also noted having a feeling of hopelessness. Thirty-point-seven percent reported a
time when they felt so depressed it was difficult to function within in the twelve months prior to being
surveyed.
Student behaviorssexual, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse, need to also be considered as part of
campus initiatives. Mental health issues may not affect just the student suffering, but it may also disrupt
the students roommates, classmates, faculty, and staff. College is a time when students often begin to
gain independence and learn not only career skills, but life skills, the university should provide a great
opportunity to guide and inspire students to a healthier lifestyle. Students are not the only ones who
would benefit greatly from increased emphasis on physical and mental health. The Centers for Disease
Control, (CDC, 2015) states, depression and obesity increases health related costs and decreases
productivity, and healthy lifestyles can aid prevention of chronic diseases. Research is necessary to help
determine what the university is doing correctly and what could be implemented in the future.
In order to tackle these problems, there must be a primary understanding of both physical and
mental health issues more in depth; such as treatment, prevention, and possible barriers of both. Mental
health issues are very important because they can lead to other problems. Increasing psychological
problems are evident thus caseloads are growing. Seventy-six-point-six percent of counselors reduced the
number of non-crisis patients in order to deal with an increase of those with more severe problems (APA,
n.d.). When analyzing obesity, it is known as a complex issue, and often takes a backseat compared to
other student behaviors, sexuality, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse (Sparling, 2007), but although the
problems like excess weight, poor nutrition, and inactivity do not have the immediacy of other problems,
they can be just as problematic.
Our goal was to first find out what the University is currently doing to improve campus health.
We interviewed Ann Clifton, the Chief Nursing Officer for Wayne States Campus Health Center (CHC)
and Randa Sharka, a counseling intern with Wayne States Counseling and Psychological Services
(CAPS) to find out their role in improving campus health. Our group also distributed surveys to students,
students organization presidents, and the athletic department via email.
INTRODUCTION CONTINUED
Wayne State University has some programs implemented already. The university has a few areas
in which students can exercise, from the Mort Harris Recreation Center to the Matthaei Athletic Center.
The university also treats students through the Campus Health Center and through the Counseling and
Psychological Services.
In the interview with Ann Clifton she noted that there are certain programs the university
implements already, such as the Warrior Way, Student Health 101, and the availability of an on-staff
dietitian. However, it seems that participation in these programs is relatively low because students do not
seem to know about them. In the interview with Ronda Sharka, it seemed that marketing the programs
that CAPS offers was largely unnecessary due to the need for assessment, but that they do find that
Academica is a good tool for outreach.
Section 2
METHOD
Our research brought us to survey a variety of people. We sent out surveys made by
Google forms to multiple students of different backgrounds and/or student organizations. We
also sent text messages asking the question similar to those on the Google survey. All surveys
were sent to students currently enrolled. We interviewed multiple stakeholders of the university,
the Campus Health Center and Counseling and Psychological Services. Smoke-Free Campus
flyers were also passed out on campus that promoted the smoke-free campus campaign Wayne
State University (WSU) recently started participating in. These flyers also gave students
information about how to register for a smoke-less kit, which the university provides for
students looking to quit smoking.
Equipment
The Smoke-Free Campus flyers were designed on a MacBook Pro using keynote
application. These flyers were printed using a HP printer. Interviews were recorded using an
iPhone 6s and notes were taken in a notebook. Not much equipment was needed for our research.
Region Covered
Team members who conducted this research were knowledgeable of the heavy smoke
areas on campus. They decided to explore throughout the university to see if they could find
people smoking. There were a total of six buildings that were visited:
David Adamany Undergraduate Library
State Hall
Student Center
Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center
General Lectures
Manoogian Hall
Flyers were also placed in the student center and
CAPS. This research was conducted in a one mile radius.
Section 3
RESULTS
Our data was either recorded on our phones or notes were taken in our notes application
on our phone or on a notebook. Surveys were created via Google forms and a texting application
so responses were recorded properly on the applications. The Google form survey (Appendix I)
showed great results.
! When asked what stressed them the most:
Work: Two (2) non-smokers students
School: Eleven (11) smokers/fifteen (15) non-smokers
Relationship: Seven (7) non-smokers
Extracurricular activities: Two (2) non-smokers
Success of future: Three(3) non-smokers
! When asked what helped reduce their stress relief:
Sex: Four (4) smokers/eight (8) non-smokers
Dance: Four (4) non-smokers
Exercise: Two (2) smokers/twelve (12) non-smokers
Party: Two (2) smokers/five (5) non-smokers
Illegal Drugs: Three (3) smokers resorted to illegal drugs to reduce stress.
Additional information obtained from survey was asked about general health.
! Hours of sleep on a daily basis:
Five(5) people said seven (7) hours
Five (5) people said six (6) hours
One (1) person said five (5) hours
Five (5) people said eight (8) hours
Five (5) people said seven (7) hours
! Daily Exercise:
Nineteen (19) people said they exercise five (5) times a week
One (1) said two (2) times a week
One (1) said four (4) times a week.
! Daily Vitamin Intake:
Seven (7) people said they consume vitamins while the rest said they do not.
Overall we had a total of forty (40) participants. Eleven (11) of which were smokers and twentynine (29) were non-smokers.
8
RESULTS CONTINUED
Chart 1: Stressors
Number of People
Non- Smokers
0
School
Work
Future Career
Number of People
Non-
Smokers
0
Sex
Dancing
Exericise
Partying
Illegal Drugs
RESULTS CONTINUED
Chart 3: Smoker or Non-smoker
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Yes
No
Smokers
10
Section 3
DISCUSSION
After interviewing Campus Health Centers Ann Clifton (Appendix III), Chief Nursing
Officer, we found that there is numerous paraphernalia that the Campus Health center offers to
appeal to students interests. Unfortunately, she was not able to give our researchers any student
statistics because of IRB regulations, these regulations are used in the protections of the rights
and welfare of human research subjects (FDA 2014). She was only able to give general
information on current and upcoming WSU health initiatives.
Including the following:
Warrior Way Program: The Warrior Way is an incentive-based student wellness program
created to help support students in beginning and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in college.
Free five week healthy lifestyle program open to currently enrolled WSU Students (CAPS
2015)
o Cafe tours
o Nutrition info table @ Student center
o Nutrition seminar at Campus Health Center
o University Foods Grocery store tour: helps student find healthy food while on a
budget
o Farmers market visits
o Program Events
o drop-in gym orientations at Mort Harris FC (MHFC)
o keys to exercise success @ MHFC
o body weight workouts @MHFC
o Tabata workout @MHFC
o seven tips to staying motivated @MHFC
o Self-Care & sleep hygiene @ CHC
o Stress Management table @ student center
o Mindfulness/relaxation table @ student center
o relaxation techniques @ CHC
o yoga class @ MHFC
Student Health 101 newsletter
o http://readsh101.com/wayne.html
On staff Dieticians
The interview with Randa Shakra (Appendix IV) from CAPS was very informational.
She was able to answer all of our questions as well as give us additional information as to what
she and her fellow colleagues provide for the student body of WSU, she was also able to give us
2014 statistic of the demographics they see on a daily basis.
From the questions we asked, we can conclude that there are minimal students who use
the CAPS subscription of WSUs Academica, and a bulk of the student body is not exposed to
their announcements unless they hear information from a friend that has previously visited
11
DISSUSSION CONTINUED
CAPS. Furthermore, it is difficult for CAPS to excessively advertise because as Randa said, a
primary assessment may need to be made prior to attending the support groups they offer.
The only open to the public support group CAPS recently offered was for the LGBT
community on campus, which did not require a previous assessment. They do however
collaborate with other departments, like the Campus Health Center and College of education to
make campus healthier.
Other information that was concluded from our surveys showed a majority of participants felt
most stressed from school. We also gave the participants of the surveys an opportunity to state
what they think WSU could do to make their experience better, healthier, and decrease stress
(Appendix V). The statements that the participants made were mostly things already put in place
by the university and/or something that would include changing the whole college curriculum as
a whole.
12
Section 4
CONCLUSIONS
This test supports three important conclusions:
There are not enough prevention programs on campuses for students that can help with
stress and drug abuse/psychological breakdowns.
Recommendations to the campus health center, CAPs, and other campus health regulators
were made and we hope that they implement our suggestions. We hope they consider
these recommendations to create a healthier campus for all.
13
Section 5
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on our research and interviews, we believe that information should be
easily accessible to students who want to make their lifestyle healthier. The use of
Academia has been helpful for few. It is a new program and many students have yet to
become acclimated to the program. Although there was a tutorial on how to use
Academica when it was first released, students feel that notifications about healthy living
programs/events should be more heavily advertised elsewhere.
Although our research regarding obesity was scarce, we feel that a domino effect
will occur when you start with mental health. According to a National Alliance for the
Mentally Ill (NAMI) survey, students who had mental health illnesses in college might
have had a better college experience and would have stay in school if:
received better accommodations (i.e. tutoring, books, on tape, lower course loads
help with communicating their need to professors or online classes), accessing
mental health services and support groups on campus
connecting with mental health providers earlier
having peer run support groups available
getting assistance with medical bills and transportation
managing side effect of medication
Received support from family and friends.
Their survey results were consistent with our survey results. With our research
(Appendix II) shows that many students relieve their stress by exercising. Students also
suggested that the university provide better way to reduce stress (Appendix V). We also
believe student behaviorssexual, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse, should be considered as when
creating campus initiatives. Prevention and information regarding these harmful behaviors should
be available for students.
Regardless if they have access to the Mort Harris Recreational center (physical gym)
or not, there should be alternative ways to exercise both the body and mind. Furthermore,
increasing bodily health while making people aware of the healthy programs available to
them, will improve both mental and physical health of Wayne State University campus.
14
Section 6
REFERENCES
American College Health Association. (2015). National College Health Assessment Spring 2008
Reference Group Data Report. Retrieved from http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/NCHAII%20WEB_SPRING_2015_REFERENCE_GROUP_DATA_REPORT.pdf
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). The State of Mental Health on College Campuses: A
Growing Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/gr/education/news/2011/collegecampuses.aspx
Centers for Disease Control. (2015). Wellness at Work. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/features/workingwellness/
Gruttadaro , Darcy, Crudo, Dana. (2012) College Students Speak: A Survey Report on Mental Health.
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/AboutNAMI/Publications-Reports/Survey-Reports/College-Students-Speak_A-Survey-Report-on-Mental-H.pdf
Heck, E., Jaworska, N., DeSomma, E., Dhoopar, A.J., MacMaster, F. P., Dewey, D., MacQueen, G.
(2014). A Survey of Mental Health Services at Post-Secondary Institutions in Alberta. Canadian
Journal of Psychiatry, 59(5). Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4079139/
What is an Institutional Review Board (IRB)? IRB Organization. Institutional Review Boards
Frequently Asked Questions - Information Sheet. Regulatory Information. U.S Food
Administration. June 25 2014
Sparling, P. B. (2007). Obesity on campus. Preventing Chronic Disease [serial online]. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/jul/06_0142.htm
15
APPENDIX I
Google Survey
16
APPENDIX II
Google Survey Stress Reponses
17
APPENDIX III
Interview questions and responses: Ann Clifton
November 18, 2015
1. Are
you
able
to
give
us
any
statistics
regarding
the
amount
of
illnesses
and
diseases
present
on
campus?
No,
because
of
IRB
regulations
I
am
unable
to
tell
you
any
specific
statistics.
We
also
only
see
about
10%
of
the
student
population.
2. What
do
most
people
come
in
for?
Again
because
of
IRB
regulations
I
really
cant
disclose
that
information,
I
am
sorry.
3. What
is
the
Campus
Health
Center
doing
to
improve
the
health
of
WSU?
We
[Campus
Health
Center]
have
collaborated
with
CAPS
and
the
Mort
Harris
Recreation
center
to
create
the
Wellness
Warriors.
There
is
also
the
Warrior
Way
five-week
program.
We
actually
have
a
meeting
coming
up
for
that
soon;
I
will
be
able
to
email
you
more
information
about
what
that
program
offers.
We
also
have
an
on
staff
Dietician
available
for
students
who
want
more
information
about
improving
their
health
more
directly.
4. How
do
you
guys
advertise
your
services
besides
posters?
We
seek
feedback
from
the
student
body
via
surveys
and
we
have
found
that
a
lot
of
students
have
had
class
conflicts
with
the
times
that
we
would
like
to
plan
healthy
events,
so
participation
is
still
a
work
in
progress.
5. Do
you
guys
treat
staff
at
all?
No
18
APPENDIX IV
Interview
questions and responses: Randa Shakra
November 23, 2015
1. Do you guys treat staff at all? Why?
No, but there is an Employee Assistance Program available in the College of Education that they can use.
We do not treat employees because there could be a conflict of interest, if they see one of their students
during their visit.
5. What healthy initiatives/if any do you guys offer to the campus to reduce the stress of campus life?
How do you advertise these events/initiatives?
To decrease stress, there is a continued face-to-face therapy sessions, we teach them coping skills. There is
usually an underlying cause for stress, usually at home or in the personal life so we try to find the root
cause.
We also host outreach events as far as stress management for international students
6. What is the most common problem that most people come in to talk about? Are there any statistic
regarding WSU?
Depression/anxiety. Younger students usually come in with social anxiety, and look for better ways to
make friends.
19
APPENDIX IV CONTINUED
CAPS Group Schedule and Descriptions
20
APPENDIX V
Google Survey Student Suggestions
21