Category: Health News

College students face incredible mental health stressors

by Eusebia Hyden on November 24, 2020 in Health News

Communal living spaces and a younger population may be a contributing factor to new surges in COVID-19 cases on college campuses.

USA TODAY

LAFAYETTE, La. – It’s a hard time to be in college. It’s never easy, of course, as a major life transition into a new social setting on top of the actual school work.

But this year is proving to be especially difficult, with a pandemic and multiple hurricanes impacting classes, student activities, people’s jobs and their health.

“So during January everything was fine; I really enjoyed going to school,” said Jordyn Ratliff, 19, a sophomore chemistry

In College Students, COVID-19 Has Increased Depression Rate and Raised New Barriers to Mental Health Care | The Brink

by Eusebia Hyden on November 22, 2020 in Health News

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting significant stress on college students, many of whom are worried about increasing financial pressures caused by the pandemic and the lack of easily accessible mental health care. Those are two of the troubling findings of a survey of more than 18,000 college students on 14 campuses, published July 9 by the Healthy Minds Network, which found the rate of depression among college students has increased since the start of the pandemic. The survey, conducted between March and May of this year in collaboration with the American College Health Association, focused on students’ attitudes,

Will college students bring Covid-19 home for Thanksgiving?

by Eusebia Hyden on November 20, 2020 in Health News

If all goes as planned, the Yale University freshman’s quarantine will have followed a tightly choreographed trip from his New Haven, Connecticut, campus to ensure he doesn’t expose his parents to Covid-19.

“He’ll take a Covid-19 test 72 hours before he leaves campus and then he will wear an N95 (mask) and goggles from the moment he steps into the airport,” said Erika Kerekes, his mother, who has asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes. “On the plane he won’t eat or drink anything or use the bathroom.”

Once he tests negative, after several days of quarantining, the Kerekes family … Read More

College Students Face Increased Stress During Pandemic, Report Shows

by Eusebia Hyden on November 18, 2020 in Health News

College students are facing increased stress and, in some cases, new barriers to mental health care, according to a new survey from a pair of collegiate-focused mental health organizations.

The study, conducted by the American College Health Association and the Healthy Minds Network and published on Thursday, surveyed about 18,700 students across 14 campuses between March and May 2020. Seventy percent of the respondents were undergraduates.

Two-thirds reported their financial situation has become more stressful during the pandemic. Of that group, 26 percent indicated their circumstances have become “a lot more stressful.” Overall, 29 percent reported no significant change and

College Students Home For The Holidays: How To Keep Families Safe From COVID-19 : Shots

by Eusebia Hyden on November 16, 2020 in Health News

College students are preparing to travel home for thanksgiving, but the coronavirus is making things complicated. Epidemiologists say there are things families can to do reduce the risk of infection.

Sandy Kretschmer imagines her son Henry returning home from college, dropping his bags and then giving her a big hug. But she knows the reality of this homecoming may be a lot different.

“I’ll probably have a mask on, and he’ll have a mask on when I hug him,” she says.

Henry plans to take a COVID-19 test a few days before he leaves Iowa State University where he’s a junior, and he’ll self-quarantine until he heads home to Chicago.

The Kretschmers are taking these precautions because some family members have underlying conditions that put them at higher risk of