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Graduate students experiences at one US Southeastern university student health care center
BACKGROUND:
University mandated health-insurance policies are used to ensure student health coverage while attending school. However, lack of adequate coverage (underinsurance) still undermines healthcare access. The aim of this study was to understand health care experiences (specifically access and quality) of graduate students at one university in the Southeast US.
METHODS:
We conducted in-depth interviews guided by a semi-structured questionnaire with a heterogeneous sample of graduate students who had experience with their university health center (n=9) using a grounded theory approach. Interviews were reviewed line-by-line for emerging codes, which were categorized into broader themes using Nvivo-10.
RESULTS:
Participants reported missed diagnoses, off-hours emergency-room use, and lack of insurance-advocates for claim processing. These experiences resulted in overwhelming ill health that negatively impacted their academic, financial and emotional lives. Positive experiences included the availability of online appointments and responsiveness of the nurses. The system also failed students in handling complex and uncommon illnesses. Suggested system improvements included the need for on-call nurses during off-hours and periodic review of care.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study identified access gaps and service quality issues in the university health system. Future quantitative studies should be used to examine the extent of these issues in the larger population and the impact of access gaps on student health. To ensure that student wellbeing is preserved, the administrators of college/university health care systems need to periodically review the quality of service rendered to all of its students.
Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadershipProvision of health care to the public
Learning Objectives:
Describe student experiences with the student health center.
Discuss implications for graduate student healthcare.
Differentiate negative and positive experiences with student healthcare.
Keyword(s): College Students, Health Care Access
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am co-principal on the study regarding graduate students’ experiences at one US Southeastern university student health care center. As a health services researcher, access to health care for all populations is of interest.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.