Student Health:
Factors Affecting
Academic Success
Corie Beckermann, Director of
Health Services
Dr. Brent Nielsen, Medical Director
St. Cloud State University Fall 2008
Outline of Presentation
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Overview of Health Services, The ACHA,
and NCHA
A look at our data from Spring 2008 with a
focus on what students say affects
academic success
Current resources on our campus
Questions and comments
St Cloud State University
Student Health Service
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Medical clinic - we are nationally accredited
with 10,000+ visits annually and 5
providers
Pharmacy – approximately 12,000
prescriptions filled annually
Lab - accredited
Health Promotions – campus outreach
Located in bottom floor of Hill Hall
National College Health
Assessment
The American College Health AssociationNational College Health Assessment
(ACHA-NCHA) is a national research
survey organized by the ACHA to assist
college health service providers, health
educators, counselors, and administrators
in collecting data about their students'
habits, behaviors, and perceptions on the
most prevalent health topics.
National College Health
Assessment
ACHA initiated the survey in 1998; the
survey now provides the largest known
comprehensive data set on the health of
college students, providing the college
health and higher education fields with a
vast spectrum of research on student
health.
National College Health
Assessment
Random sample of classes in February
2008
 The results of the ACHA-NCHA Spring
2008 survey, for Saint Cloud State
University, included 833 respondents.
 In 2007 there were 71,860 students who
responded from 107 schools across the
nation
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Possible Uses of the ACHA-NCHA
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Determine priority health issues among student populations.
Provide prevalence rates and formulate baseline data for
tracking trends.
Measure progress and effectiveness of intervention
strategies.
Assess the correlation between one characteristic or
behavior and another in a given population.
Identify students’ level of self-knowledge about health
protection practices and illnesses.
Identify students’ perceptions about peer behavior.
Assess the impact of health and behavior factors on
academic performance.
General Question Content
of the NCHA
A. General Health of College Students
B. Preventive Health
C. Academic Impacts
D. Violence
E. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use
F. Sexual Behavior
G. Nutrition and Exercise
H. Mental Health
I. Student Demographics
Student’s View of General Health
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59.0 % of students surveyed (64.9 % male
and 56.7 % female) described their health
as very good or excellent.
General Health & GPA
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Simple correlation, r=.086, p<.05
(significant, not by chance)
There is a positive relationship
Those who rated their health as excellent
had higher GPAs on average
Students with Excellent Health
Students with Poor Health
Frequency of Health Problems in the
Past School Year
1. Back pain:
2. Allergy problems:
3. Sinus Infection:
4. Depression:
5. Strep Throat:
6. Anxiety:
7. Asthma:
8. Ear infection:
9. Bronchitis:
10. SAD:
11. Broken Bone:
12. Substance abuse:
13. Stress Injury:
14. Mono:
15. Fatigue:
16. High blood pressure:
45.6%
36.5%
26.2%
16.7%
14.3%
12.7%
10.5%
9.1%
7.8%
7.2%
6.1%
4.3%
3.9%
3.7%
3.4%
3.3%
Frequency of Health Problems in the
Past School Year
17. Genital Warts/HPV:
18. High Cholesterol:
19. Bulimia:
20. Anorexia:
21. Chlamydia:
22. Diabetes:
23. Hepatitis B or C:
24. Tuberculosis:
24. Genital Herpes:
26. Gonorrhea
26. Endometriosis:
26. Pelvic inflammatory:
27. HIV infection:
2.5%
2.4%
2.0%
1.5%
1.2%
1.0%
0.5%
0.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.0%
Academic Impacts
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Within the last school year students
reported the following factors affecting their
individual academic performance, i.e.
received an incomplete, dropped a course,
received a lower grade in a class, on an
exam, or on an important project:
Academic Impacts: Greatest to Least
1. Stress:
2. Sleep Difficulties:
3. Cold/flu/sore throat:
4. Concern for a troubled friend or family member:
5. Depression/anxiety disorder/seasonal affective disorder:
6. Relationship difficulty:
7. Internet use/computer games:
8. Death of a friend/ family member:
9. Attention deficit disorder:
10. Sinus Infection/ear infection/bronchitis/strep throat:
11. Drug Use:
12. Mononucleosis:
13. Learning Disability:
14. Injury:
15. Allergies:
29.1%
23.2%
22.9%
14.0%
11.8%
11.6%
11.2%
9.6%
7.4%
7.3%
3.5%
3.0%
2.8%
2.8%
2.2%
Academic Impacts: Greatest to Least
16. Chronic Pain:
17. Assault (sexual):
18. Chronic illness(diabetes,asthma,etc):
19. Assault (physical):
20. Eating disorder/problem:
21. Pregnancy (yours or partner’s)
22. Sexually transmitted disease:
23. HIV infection:
2.1%
1.8%
1.7%
1.0%
0.9%
0.8%
0.7%
0.3%
What is Stress?
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It is the body’s response to physical and
psychological demands.
Since stress is a broad concept it is hard to define
what students mean when they say, “stress
affects academic performance.”
Some examples:
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Academic stress
Psychosocial stress
Financial stress
Physical stress
Occupational
Predictors of Stress
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Sleep difficulty & Stress (r=.650, p<.05)
Relationship difficulty & Stress (r=.431,
p<.05)
Internet and Games & Stress (r=.318,
p<.05)
Anxiety (last year) & Stress (r=.289, p<.05)
Stress and GPA
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Stress itself had no significant relationship
with GPA
However, some of the predictors of stress
did relate to student GPA
Sleep difficulty & GPA (r=.110, p<.05)
Internet and Games & GPA (r=.088, p<.05)
Sleep Problems
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Reported by students as the second most
common health issue which affected
academic performance
Academic Impacts: Greatest to Least
1. Stress:
2. Sleep Difficulties:
3. Cold/flu/sore throat:
4. Concern for a troubled friend or family member:
5. Depression/anxiety disorder/seasonal affective disorder:
6. Relationship difficulty:
7. Internet use/computer games:
8. Death of a friend/ family member:
9. Attention deficit disorder:
10. Sinus Infection/ear infection/bronchitis/strep throat:
11. Drug Use:
12. Mononucleosis:
13. Learning Disability:
14. Injury:
15. Allergies:
29.1%
23.2%
22.9%
14.0%
11.8%
11.6%
11.2%
9.6%
7.4%
7.3%
3.5%
3.0%
2.8%
2.8%
2.2%
Getting enough sleep to feel rested
in the morning
Percent (%)
Male
Female
Total
0 days
11.6
12.3
11.8
1-2 days
25.1
28.8
27.4
3-5 days
47.2
45.2
46.5
6+ days
16.1
13.8
14.4
Evaluation of Sleep
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Detailed history including stressors,
medications, drug use and sleep hygiene
Counseling on importance of regular sleep
schedule and other sleep hygiene
measures (we review how the patients
lifestyle/habits negatively impact sleep)
Medications are sometimes indicated when
related to other health problems
Mental Health/Depression
Depression is reported by students as one
of the top health problems which impacts
academic success
Academic Impacts: Greatest to Least
1. Stress:
2. Sleep Difficulties:
3. Cold/flu/sore throat:
4. Concern for a troubled friend or family member:
5. Depression/anxiety disorder/seasonal affective disorder:
6. Relationship difficulty:
7. Internet use/computer games:
8. Death of a friend/ family member:
9. Attention deficit disorder:
10. Sinus Infection/ear infection/bronchitis/strep throat:
11. Drug Use:
12. Mononucleosis:
13. Learning Disability:
14. Injury:
15. Allergies:
29.1%
23.2%
22.9%
14.0%
11.8%
11.6%
11.2%
9.6%
7.4%
7.3%
3.5%
3.0%
2.8%
2.8%
2.2%
College students reported being
diagnosed with depression
Male
Female
Total
13.7%
20.0%
17.7% or 2832
of SCSU
students
Of those students reporting ever having been
diagnosed with depression in the item above...
Percent
Male
Female
Total
Diagnosed with
depression in the
last school year
22.9
26.14
26.4
Currently in
therapy for
depression
11.4
17.4
15.7
Currently taking
medication for
depression
22.9
37.0
35.0
Feeling things were hopeless
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
43.0
29.3
33.8
1-10 Times
49.0
64.3
58.8
11+ Times
8.0
6.3
7.4
Feeling overwhelmed by all they had
to do
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
11.7
1.7
5.3
1-10 Times
68.8
71.1
69.8
11+ Times
19.5
27.1
24.9
Feeling exhausted (not from physical
activity)
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
14.8
3.7
7.9
1-10 Times
68.9
72.2
70.6
11+ Times
16.3
24.1
21.6
Feeling very sad
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
31.6
14.3
20.7
1-10 Times
59.3
76.4
69.9
11+ Times
9.1
9.3
9.4
Feeling so depressed it was difficult to
function
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
65.3
57.0
59.4
1-10 Times
29.8
38.8
36.0
11+ Times
4.9
4.1
4.5
Seriously considering attempting
suicide
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
92.1
92.0
91.3
1-10 Times
6.8
6.9
7.6
11+ Times
1.1
1.1
1.1
Attempting suicide
Percent (%) Male
Female
Total
Never
99.2
98.1
98.1
1-10 Times
0.4
1.7
1.6
11+ Times
0.4
0.2
0.2
Evaluation of Student with
Symptoms of Depression
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Detailed history with a focus on multiple
stressors and specific areas of symptoms
Student can be initially evaluated at the
counseling center or health services,
whichever they prefer
Student specific therapy/counseling and
medications are initiated by on campus
staff when indicated
# of Mental Health Visits per Year
to Health Services
URIs
(Upper Respiratory Infections)
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At least 1/3 of our total visits annually
Examples include flu, mono, sinus
infections, ear infections, strep throat,
pneumonia and the common cold
Many URIs are self-limiting, but can impact
academic performance (flu, mono, high
fever illnesses). Many URIs affect sleep
temporarily.
Academic Impacts: Greatest to Least
1. Stress:
2. Sleep Difficulties:
3. Cold/flu/sore throat:
4. Concern for a troubled friend or family member:
5. Depression/anxiety disorder/seasonal affective disorder:
6. Relationship difficulty:
7. Internet use/computer games:
8. Death of a friend/ family member:
9. Attention deficit disorder:
10. Sinus Infection/ear infection/bronchitis/strep throat:
11. Drug Use:
12. Mononucleosis:
13. Learning Disability:
14. Injury:
15. Allergies:
29.1%
23.2%
22.9%
14.0%
11.8%
11.6%
11.2%
9.6%
7.4%
7.3%
3.5%
3.0%
2.8%
2.8%
2.2%
URIs (continued)
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We provide high quality care with timely
visits – most prescriptions and lab tests are
available on site
Prevention (flu shots), self-care (proper
sleep), and basic hygiene (hand washing
and covering your cough) are important.
Education regarding these issues is
accomplished at most visits and critical.
Conclusions
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Health issues affect students’ ability to succeed
in college.
Mental health related problems and URIs are
especially prevalent here and nationwide.
Being aware of what affects students
academically and the resources we have on
campus will empower us to assist students who
are at greatest risk.
Resources on our Campus for
students with health problems
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Health Services 308-3191
Counseling Center 308-3171
Student Disability Services 308-4080
Women’s Center 308-6408
Behavioral Intervention Team 308-3111
Case Manager position
Psychiatrist hours and Phone Consults
Behavioral Intervention Team
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A group of campus administrators from
student life, public safety, and the
president’s office who meets on a weekly
basis to discuss students of concern on
campus
Most are referrals from faculty, residential
life, and public safety
A plan is developed for each student
Case Manager
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Planned hire for 2008-2009 school year to
assist the above areas from the BIT team in
connecting students in need with resources
Psychiatry Hours/Phone Calls
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We have one hour per week of face-to-face
time and one hour per week of phone
consultation for challenging cases. Triage
for these few spots is challenging.
We share these hours with St. Ben’s, St.
John’s, and St. Cloud Technical College
Grant funded by Centracare
Credits
Thank you to:
John Buckner, Dept of Psychology
Yawovi “Sessi” Komlanvi, Dept of Economics
Rebecca Bullert, Dept of Community Health
April Basarich, Dept of Psychology
Questions or Comments?
END
A Refresher on Statistics
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P values: significance at p<.05 means we are 95% confident
the relationship is not by chance, there is only a 5% chance
that we found this relationship without it actually existing in
the population
Interpreting correlations (r values):
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r values range from -1 to 1. An r value of 0 means there is no
correlation
o
Positive r values means they move the same direction
o
o
Ex: as Health goes up, GPA goes up… as health goes down,
GPA goes down
Negative means they move opposite directions
o
Ex: Sleep difficulty goes down, GPA goes up… sleep difficulty
goes up, GPA goes down