Differences in Tobacco Use Among Two-Year and Four-Year College Students in Minnesota

Abstract

Objective: This study compares tobacco use rates among two-year and four-year college students and explores the demographic variables that predicted that behavior. Participants: 9,931 students at 14 two-year and four-year colleges in Minnesota participated. Methods: Students at 11 schools completed an online survey, and students at 3 schools completed a paper survey in 2007. Results: After controlling for sex, age, ethnicity, relationship status, hours of work per week, and number of school credits, attending a two-year college predicted current and daily smoking (odds ratio [OR]) = 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.52–1.89; OR = 3.47, 95% CI = 2.94–4.11) and smokeless tobacco use (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.32–2.06; OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.06–2.53). Conclusions: Although two-year college students comprise approximately two fifths of the college student population, surveys of college student tobacco use have focused nearly exclusively on four-year college students. Two-year college students should represent a priority population for tobacco control because attending a two-year college predicts increased tobacco use.     

Human Resource Issues in University Health Services

Abstract

To provide first-rate services to students, college health services need the best possible staff. Managers and supervisors play a critical role in guiding the work of their employees so as to enhance performance. Reference checks for new employees and regular performance appraisal dialogues for ongoing employees are important tools in this process. The author discusses these issues and suggests formats for reference checks and performance appraisals.     

Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice: Relational Principles and Techniques,by Goldstein,E., Miehls,D., & Ringel,S.

Multicultural Human Services for AIDS Treatment and Prevention. Julio Morales and Marcia Bok (Eds.). (New York: Haworth Press, 1992)

Qualitative Studies in Social Work. Catherine Kohler Riessman (Ed.). (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1994.)

Feminist Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Charlotte Prozan. (Northvale, NJ and London: Jason Aronson Inc., 1994.)     

GotFlu Channel: An Online Syndromic Surveillance Tool Supporting College Health Practice and Public Health Work

Abstract

Objective: Develop a tool to ease the burden of H1N1 influenza on a campus clinic by promoting self-care, generating medical notes, and identifying vulnerable students. Participants: Students at Brock University, a mid-sized urban campus; Brock's Student Health Services; and Niagara Public Health. Methods: Students accessed a controlled portal of Brock's Web site and self-identified onset/offset of influenza-like symptoms. Daily sign-in numbers were monitored and nonidentifiable aggregate data transferred to the local public health unit. Results: There was concordance among the number of college students signing in, local school absenteeism rates, and local rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza. Many visits to the campus health clinic were averted, 1,432 students used the tool. Conclusion: The online, real-time surveillance tool was effective in monitoring influenza activity on campus, providing timely health advice, decreasing unnecessary visits to the campus medical clinic, and assisting local public health in surveillance activities.     

Living Arrangements,Knowledge of Health Risks,and Stress as Determinants of Health-Risk Behavior Among College Students

Abstract

The association of knowledge of health risks, living arrangements, and perceived stress with health-risk behaviors was examined in a sample of college students included in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey. Regressions of each health-risk behavior (dependent variable) were performed on the predicted correlates. Although knowledge was not associated with participation in physical activity or smoking, the study found that students who knew more about the harmful effects of alcohol drank less, and those with greater knowledge of health risks practiced fewer risky behaviors. Students living independently were more likely to smoke, and those living in residence halls were less like to do so. Drinking, however, was more common among students living in residence halls or independently than among those living at home. Hall residents engaged in more group physical activity than other students did, but their physical activity was unrelated to health-risk behaviors. Stress was associated with smoking but not with other health practices. The findings suggest that smoking may be less influenced by health knowledge and more associated than drinking is with a response to stress. Drinking appears to be a social activity associated with living among peers and is potentially modifiable by increased knowledge about the effects of alcohol on health.     

The Efficacy of the Social Norms Approach to Substance Abuse Prevention Applied to Fraternity Men

Abstract

Students tend to overestimate the amount of alcohol consumed among their peers and often drink to that imaginary level. The social norms strategy, designed to correct norm misperceptions, has been correlated with a decrease in reported consumption in the general college population. However, it has had little or no impact among Greek students, the group that consumes the most alcohol. The authors investigated and subsequently found three possible flaws in the application of the social norms strategy that may account for the failure to decrease binge drinking among fraternity men: there is no predominant, healthy drinking norm in this population; students are influenced more by people within their network(s) than by others; and binge drinking is the norm in this group and may serve to perpetuate the problem. The findings, though preliminary, provide the first step in developing interventions beyond the social norms approach to address binge drinking among fraternity men.