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Health promotion programming for freshmen: A campus-wide strategy. By: Axiotis, I. Renee, Symons, Cynthia Wolford, Wellness Perspectives, 07481764, Winter91, Vol. 8, Issue 2
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Health Promotion Programming For Freshmen: A Campus-Wide Strategy

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Section: PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES

Students entering college are faced with challenging health risks and decisions. Behavior patterns and habits either reinforced or established during this time have the potential to influence health status. Therefore, higher education personnel need to examine rationale and strategies for incorporating health promotion concepts, and information regarding access to local referral networks, into orientation programming for incoming students. This article suggests steps for implementing health promotion strategies into freshmen orientation programming and highlights how these were implemented at Kent State University (KSU).

Need Assessment

At the 1987 American College Health Association convention, professionals identified sexual health (physical and emotional); abuse of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco: mental health concerns related to stress and self-esteem; and nutrition as critical health Issues facing college students in the 90's. Further, peer pressure, risk taking and the denial of vulnerability were suggested as developmentally consistent catalysts of health risk behaviors. Among the prevention initiatives proposed at thIs forum was the Integration of health instruction and health promotion strategies in university orientation courses. (Guyton et al. 1989)

Student affairs professionals responsible for the freshmen orientation program at KSU periodically conduct an Interest Inventory of enrolled students to Identify programmIng priorities. Respondents consistently Identified health Issues, particularly those related to sexuality, stress, alcohol and other drugs, fitness and nutrition to be of most concern. Interestingly, in an unpublIshed 1990 study of health behaviors of students at KSU, 531 randomly selected freshmen reported that a significant number regularly participated in risk behaviors related to alcohol use, sexual health, and the manifestations of stress. These data are supported by anecdotal evidence provided by campus and community based counselIng professionals, student affairs personnel, and health education faculty. American College Health Association literature, supported by these local data, established the need to develop and implement a mechanism to provide health promotion activities and access to appropriate referral networks for freshman.

Planning

DevelopIng a systematic mechanism to provide access to timely and appropriate information and referral networks for such a diverse target audience proved particularly challenging. While attending to the range of identified needs, it was also critical to keep program objectives in the context of budget limitations and time constraints. Under the leadership of the Director of the New Student Orientation Program, a task force of staff, students, and faculty was organized to develop a plan that would Incorporate health promotion programming both during the Freshmen Orientation Week (the time between arrival and the start of classes) and throughout the Induction semester.

Initial programming was designed to introduce the Incoming students to health promotion concepts and provide access to the most commonly used campus and community support networks. University staff health educators and professionals from campus medical and psychological services collaborated in large group presentations required during Freshmen Orientation Week.

In the second phase of the model, all students participate in an additional one credit health promotion course during their first semester on campus. Students select the session which focuses on the topic of most interest as part of this course. Topics from which the students can select include: alcohol use, STD"s, relationships and self-esteem, sexual assault, nutrition, stress and time management, depression, fitness, and consumer health. Presentations are provided by university staff health educators, student affairs professionals, and faculty in the health education program with particular expertise or interest in the topic.

Specifically, the Director of the New Student Orientation Program collaborates with the university staff health educators to confirm faculty commitment and arrange times and locations for the sessions. Finally, prior to the arrival of the new students, a brochure was developed that provides information about the presentations and associated campus and community referral networks.

During the first week of the freshmen orientation class, these materials are distributed to each student by the peer instructor assigned to each section of the orientation class. Peer instructors monitor the mechanics of topic selection and completion of this course competency. It is important to note that as part of their ongoing training, the peer instructors participate in staff development programming about management and referral of student health issues.

Implementation

Presentations are structured to be both developmentally appropriate and interactive. The objectives of each session consistently address: (1) knowledge gain, (2) evaluation of attitudes or beliefs about the issue, (3) development of health enhancing skills, and (4) Increased access to local referral networks. Presentation times are staggered throughout the semester. Because each fifty minute presentation is offered only once, the faculty time commitment for direct delivery Is mInimal. Alternate health programs, open to the university community at large, are substituted to accommodate scheduling conflicts for students.

Following each presentation, a written evaluation of content and format is distributed to students. By completing the evaluation instrument, which includes student identification number, participation and completion of this course competency is confirmed. The instructor also completes a written evaluation of the process. These data have been very helpful in planning for future semesters.

Evaluation

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By University policy, a Pass/Fall grade is determined for each student. To help increase honesty in student responses to the evaluation instrument, the faculty for the health promotion sessions have no input into student grades. At the end of the semester, presentation instructors received aggregate data from the student evaluations of their presentation and summational comments from the planners.

Specifically, the student evaluations have revealed that a majority of students:

(1) "find presentations informative",

(2) "learned new Information", and

(3) suggested that the "requirement be continued or Increases."

Data suggest that the programs have helped students to examIne the complexities of major health Issues facing them. Presentations have enabled students to identify a campus professional to serve in a resource or referral capacity. These data provide continuing Justification for Improving and formalizing critical referral networks and services for freshmen.

Summary

Faced with growing concern over freshmen attrition rates and the social, physical, and mental health of college students, it is vital for institutions of higher education to examine ways for all students to receive early and continuing access to health information and referral networks. This format of self selected presentations has been demonstrated to be both an educationally sound and efficient way to address health promotion concerns of Incoming students.

Suggested Reading

Guyton, R., Corbin, S., Zimmer, C., O"Donnell, M., Chervin, D., Sloane, B., & Chamberlain, M. (1989). College students and national health objectives for the year 2000: a summary report. Journal of American College Health, 38(1), 9-14.

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By I. Renee Axiotis; Cynthia Wolford Symons; Margaret Pepe; Constance Dubick

I. Renee Axiotis is a University Health Educator in the Deweese Health Center, Cynthia Wolford Symons in an Associate Professor of Health Education, Margaret Pepe is an Assistant Professor of Health Education, and Constance Dubick is the Director of New Student Orientation at Kent State University in Kent, OH, 44242


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