This study investigated the association between student debt and healthcare service usage utilizing pooled data collected from the 2015 to 2018 waves of the National Financial Capability Study. The findings of this study suggest that, when compared to those without student debt, student debt holders have a lower likelihood of filling prescriptions…

Background: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) are prevalent among American college students, yet only a small percentage of suicidal college students receive mental health treatment. Many avoid seeking help due to help-negation or the refusal to seek available mental health help when needed. To better understand why suicidal college students…

This study addresses several research questions. First, it explores the New Jersey undergraduate college students' perceptions of campus-based mental health services. Second, this study assesses the students' awareness of campus-based mental health services in NJ. This study also identifies the barriers preventing NJ undergraduate college…

Purpose: Using smart mobile devices, called mobile health (mHealth), facilitates providing health services, speeds up the process and reduces the costs and complications of direct services. Also, mHealth has many capabilities and applications in epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. This study aimed to systematically review the mHealth adoption…

The purpose of this study is to document the experiences, services, and programs provided to displaced university students from Puerto Rico and to offer recommendations to educational and community agencies regarding effective integration after a natural disaster. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, this qualitative phenomenology study…

College and university counseling centers have maintained core practices of advanced scheduling, thorough psychosocial assessment before treatment, and traditional 50-minute psychotherapy sessions since their inception in the mid-late 1900s. This approach has become challenged in the current university mental health landscape, which has seen a…

For several decades, college counseling centers have struggled to meet a steady rise in demand for services. Research suggests that therapeutic advancements, including psychotropic medication, have led to an increase in students with serious mental illnesses who now represent a significant portion of this demand. Current strategies to meet the…

Background" Reducing opioid reliance in chronic pain treatment may best be accomplished with interdisciplinary teams. Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) are one format whereby an interdisciplinary team partners with groups of patients to provide health education and clinical care. The Whole Health (WH) model is an emerging framework whereby…

In 2020, the world faced a significant obstacle that halted day-to-day living: the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, students from low-income families in communities of color faced additional barriers, such as a lack of healthy food at home, little to no health insurance, and limited access to mental health services. Given these barriers, some…

The use of technology to provide social work services is becoming more common, and the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in telehealth services throughout the United States. Telehealth can provide a variety of benefits and challenges that social workers must be prepared to address. While social work programs are using technology in a…

At-risk urban youth benefit from mentored activities. The Champion Academy (CA) is a youth mentoring program for high risk urban youth. We used a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach to explore: 1) youth perspectives on health and wellness, EH and EJ; and 2) community perspectives on the intersection of structural racism, health…

Background: Even though onset of three-quarters of mental disorders occurs by age 25, few young adults seek help for their mental health needs. The objectives of this study are to examine the relationship of discrimination and stigma of mental illness on the help-seeking behavior for mental health among college students. Method: Undergraduate…

Food insecurity is the leading indicator of well-being for vulnerable children in the United States due to the magnitude of the problem (9.3 million in 2021) and the associated numerous negative health and other consequences. Given the magnitude of food insecurity and its health consequences, food insecurity is a leading contributor to health…

Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) offer primary and preventive health care for children and adolescents. Using nationally representative data, we aimed to examine which child and family characteristics are associated with using school-based health care providers as the primary source of health care, and whether care received from…

Courses: This semester-long project can be included in a general health communication course, a health campaigns course, upper-level mass-media courses, and advanced courses on communication and social justice. This can also be used as a semester-long assignment in a course that fulfills a diversity requirement. Objectives: After completing this…