The last two decades have seen significant changes in organizational structures within higher education. Counseling centers are no exception and have been the target of reorganizations and mergers that often involve student health services. Outcomes of these efforts have varied; some being quite successful while others have resulted in failures and the re-creation of systems that are remarkably similar to the ones that existed in the first place. An examination of the positive and negative issues relevant to mergers and reorganizations of counseling centers can be helpful in the determination of whether or not to proceed with one. In the event the decision is made to proceed, a systematic process that encourages consideration of essential steps relevant to mergers or reorganizations can promote improved decision-making and outcomes.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

There is extensive research over the decades around health care services utilization trends, however, limited data and research exists around student utilization of campus health centers. Furthermore, there is very minimal data on student utilization trends of campus health services since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since a crucial component to fostering healthy and safe college campuses is through campus health services, it clearly indicates a need for further research on the trends and perceptions of students’ campus health services utilization. This study examines utilization rates of students through exploring key demographic characteristics of students, including their perceptions toward utilization of campus health services, for their physical well-being and medical care. This dissertation is a secondary data analysis of the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. This study’s specific aims were to examine if key characteristics exist of students utilizing campus health centers, and if those trends still exist or had shifted after the Covid-19 pandemic. The data was used to evaluate if there are significant relationships between student demographics and their respective perceptions of campus health services. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of undergraduate students, data analysis found various statistical significance based on the various steps in the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. The results confirmed there are barriers to college student utilization of health services, specifically for certain race/ethnicity, international students, having an active health insurance policy, and how they perceive health being a priority on campus. Given the vital role that student health services have on college campuses, efforts to increase campus health service utilization should be considered through targeted programming and more inclusive staffing and service offerings.

Mentoring as a process to develop and enhance the functioning of new members in organisations has become prominent in the last two decades. In various disciplines such as law, education and business, the implementation of mentoring processes and concepts have been embraced. With an estimated two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa living with HIV/AIDS, health care professionals seem to have also embraced the mentoring process and concepts. In this study the experiences of lay counsellors, referred to as Befrienders, in a mentoring programme were explored. In addition, the researcher sought to identify potential challenges that Befrienders experienced in the mentoring programme, how they understood the challenges and how these challenges were addressed. The researcher then explored the potential skills that may have been learned within the mentoring programme. The exploration also produced some ideas on how the mentoring programme could be improved. Furthermore, the study seems to have made a contribution to mentoring theory. In the study, a convenient sample of five formal interviews and two pilot interviews were conducted. The participants consisted of four students, and one staff member from the University of Pretoria. Participants were interviewed for 1½ hours using semi-structured, individual and face-to-face interviews. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the data and social constructionism was used as the theoretical framework to make sense of the findings. In the findings, five prominent themes were identified, namely: (i) Being mentored (Experiencing the programme), (ii) Interpersonal relationships (Experiencing others), (iii) A developing inner world (Experiencing the Self), (iv) Negotiating boundaries (Managing relationships), and (v) Other issues related to HIV/AIDS (Experiencing the context). It was found, among other things, that the Befrienders constructed their own understanding of the mentoring process, that they used the mentoring relationship with their supervisor to understand the clients, and that they developed new perspectives as they learned about themselves. Finally, as a result of being mentored and of the process of development, the Befrienders seemed to have developed a deeper desire to do more work in the HIV/AIDS context. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur elevhälsoarbetet fungerat vid kommunala gymnasieskolor under covid-19 pandemin. Metoden var kvalitativ och bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet innefattade totalt fyra personer, varav två var skolsköterskor och två var skolkuratorer. Samtliga var anställda vid kommunala gymnasieskolor i en mellansvensk kommun. Data från intervjuerna analyserades genom konventionell innehållsanalys. Resultatet av analysen ledde till de fyra huvudkategorierna Flexibelt arbete, Kontakt och tillgänglighet, Elevhälsans insats och Hur arbetet fungerade. Huvudresultatet visade att elevhälsoarbetet krävde mer planering och i lägre grad innefattade elevkontakt. Att tillgodose elevers behov var en större utmaning än normalt och somliga insatser inte kunde genomföras. Det fanns både positiva och negativa aspekter i arbetet under perioden, men det fungerade bättre än förväntat. Resultatet visade även att det var svårare att upptäcka elever som mådde dåligt, att elevhälsans tillgänglighet kunde uppfattas olika av olika elever samt att distansundervisningen uppfattades ha en betydande negativ påverkan på majoriteten eleverna. Studiens slutsats var att det finns brister i elevhälsoarbetet under distans-undervisning även om det fungerade bättre än förväntat. Hindren som uppstått kan ha lett till att elever inte kontaktat elevhälsan och att hjälpen varit mindre effektiv än normalt. Eftersom skolan är en viktig arena för folkhälso- och hållbarhetsarbete behöver ämnet studeras vidare för att utveckla ett bättre fungerade digitalt elevhälsoarbete. / The purpose of this study was to investigate school nurses’ and school counselors’ experiences of the impact of distance education on student health service during the covid-19 pandemic. The method had a qualitative approach and consisted of semi-structured interviews. The sample included a total of four people, two of whom were school nurses and two were school curators. All were employed at municipal upper secondary schools in a central Swedish municipality. The data from the interviews was analyzed through conventional content analysis. The results showed that that the student health work required more planning and to a lesser extent included student contact, meeting students’ needs was a bigger challenge than usual, and some efforts could not be implemented. The informants experience was, however, that it worked out better than expected. In conclusion, the result showed that there are shortcomings in how student health services function during distance education even if it worked out better than expected. As school is an important arena for public health and sustainability work, further research on the subject is required to develop the functionality of digital student health work.