Importance of Campus Student Health Services

By Lekgowa Molalapata

Campus health care services are greatly vital for students and should be encouraged to expand to in any possible way such as wellness and health promotions, mental health and substance abuse and so on.

Stress and related conditions are growing increasingly common among college students, according to the spring 2012 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. Roughly about 85 percent of students feel overwhelmed, and 29.5 percent feel so depressed it is hard to function. In about the last 12 months, around 12.1 percent of students get diagnosed or treated for anxiety and 10.6 percent for depression.

This research appears to be so even for Batswana students according to the Limkokwing’s campus health care service nurse, Mrs. Ernest. She stated that most students that she gets to assist usually have symptoms of stress and most of those students are those who depend entirely on their allowance to survive in and outside school. They get so overwhelmed that they eventually join the less number of students who suffer from depression and those students are those who are usually struggling with their social lives.

 

In an effort to be proactive and address the upsurge in students’ stress-induced illness and complaints, colleges and universities should expand their health care services to include wellness and health promotions, mental health and substance abuse. By providing a full scope of counseling services such as stress reduction, mental health screening and suicide and sexual assault prevention, as well as educating students about nutrition, sleep deprivation and exercise.

College health services should greatly be encouraged to take a holistic approach to health services that can inspire good physical, mental and academic outcomes for students.