Reacting to the Uncooperative,Severely Disturbed Student: A Survey of Health Center Policies

Abstract

All members of the Pacific Coast College Health Association were surveyed to determine their policies for evaluating and restricting the attendance of severely disturbed students who were not cooperative with mental health intervention.

One hundred of the 135 institutions returned questionnaires. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents reported that they medically exclude or otherwise restrict students due to their emotional condition. Privately funded schools were more likely to restrict than were tax supported schools. The more residential the campus, the more probable the students were to be restricted. The mean number of students excluded during one academic year was 3.15 (range = 0–25). Despite general recognition of the difficulties involved in responding to uncooperative, severely disturbed students, only 7% of the restrictive schools had written policies which detailed the procedures to be followed when considering restricting students for mental health reasons.

The need to develop clear procedures which respond to the needs of the students as well as the institutions was emphasized.

“Acquired Immune Deficiency in Haitians: Opportunistic Infections in Previously Healthy Haitian Immigrants,” JEFFREY VIEIRA, et al. We describe acquired immune deficiency manifested by opportunistic infections in 10 previously healthy heterosexual Haitian men. The opportunistic pathogens included Toxoplasma gondii (in four patients), Cryptococcus neoformans (in one), Pneumocystis carinii (in four patients), and Candida albicans (in three). Six of the patients also had Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Immunologic studies of three patients showed a decrease in the numbers and activity of helper T cells, with normal or increased populations of supporessor T cells. Serologic markers for previous infections from hepatitis A, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex virus were detected in several patients. Six of the patients died despite specific antimicrobial therapy. The clinical and immunologic findings in these 10 Haitians are similar to those reported in drug addicts and homosexuals with the acquired immune-deficiency syndrome.