Impact of Health Disparity Awareness on the Health Behaviors of Students at Xavier University of Louisiana

A Campus Health Awareness Survey (CHAS) was completed on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana to examine the relationship between health disparities, awareness, and behaviors among college students. Participants (n=169) answered various questions related to demographics, general health, family medical history, health behaviors, and awareness. For each participant, a summary score, Knowledge of Health Disparities (KHD), was calculated for the total number correct for all of the health disparities diseases and conditions (M=5.11, SD= 3.44). A nonparametric bivariate correlation was calculated between total health disparities correct and self rated health, rs = +.32, p < .01. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that with a mean KHD of 5.31, African Americans were significantly more aware of health disparities than all other races/ethnicities (3.41), p<.01. Likewise, students with family income greater than $50,000 (6.06) were more aware than those with less than $50,000 (4.33), p<.01. Finally, each level of student classification was significantly more aware than the previous one. There were no significant differences between students who were or were not aware of health disparities for most health behavioral factors, including eating habits and physical activity levels, with the exception of student awareness of diabetes as a health disparity. The results of the CHAS survey indicate that most students are moderately aware of health disparities; however, they do not associate their health behaviors to an increase in risk. These findings highlight the need for interventions to increase awareness of health disparities and to link knowledge to improved behaviors.