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Background and Purpose: Because there are conflicting perspectives on the factor structure of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) Questionnaire among college students, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the instrument in a sample of U.S. college students. Methods: We conducted secondary analysis of data collected from 1,138 undergraduate students from a large metropolitan university in the southeastern United States. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original 4-factor structure. Based on exploratory factor analysis, three factors were retained and rotated using Varimax rotation, which accounted for 96% of the item variance. Coefficient alphas for the factors were: social/psychological health, 0.84; physical health, 0.81; and environment, 0.77. Sexual minorities had significantly lower scores on all factors than those who identified as heterosexuals. Conclusions: In this sample of college students, the WHOQOL-BREF was three-dimensional, and a significant amount of the item variance was explained. Lower quality of life scores of nonWhites and sexual minority college students point to a critical need that should be addressed., (© Copyright 2024 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.)

A number of studies have documented the relationship between smoking and depression in adolescent and adult populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of depressive symptoms among college-age smokers and to determine whether or not increases in cigarette use were associated with increases in the number of depressive symptoms. A non-experimental cross-sectional design was used. Of the random sample (N = 895), 28% were current smokers, and more than 26% of the total sample reported high levels of depressive symptoms. Current smokers were more likely to report an increased level of depressive symptoms than nonsmokers were. Correlates of depressive symptoms included grade point average, marijuana use, and increased work hours. When controlling for these variables, the number of days smoked was predictive of depressive symptoms. School nurses have an important role in preventing smoking and treating smokers, as well as in preparing adolescents for the transition to college where many begin smoking.

Background In response to the growing body of evidence supporting the need for expanded interprofessional education among health professions, an interprofessional education program, based on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Core Competencies, was piloted with nurse practitioner and dental students. Objectives The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate a technology enhanced interprofessional education program focused on the oral-systemic health connection for nurse practitioner and dental students. Design A two-group comparative study using cross-sectional data and a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test design were used to evaluate students' knowledge of IPE core competencies, attitudes toward interprofessional education and interdisciplinary teamwork, and self-efficacy in functioning as a member of an interdisciplinary team. Setting and participants This program was implemented with master of science in nursing students pursuing a primary care nurse practitioner (NP) degree and dental students at a large urban academic health sciences center. Cohort 1 ( N  = 75) consisted of NP ( n  = 34) and dental students ( n  = 41) at the end of their degree program who participated in a one-time survey. Cohort 2 ( N  = 116) was comprised of second-year NP students ( n  = 22) and first-year dental students ( n  = 94) who participated in the IPE program. Methods Students participated in a multi-faceted educational program consisting of technology- enhanced delivery as well as interactive exercises in the joint health assessment course. Data were collected prior to the initiation and at the conclusion of the program. Results Nurse practitioner and dental students who participated in the program had better self-efficacy in functioning as a member of an interdisciplinary team than graduating students who did not participate. Students from both nursing and dentistry who participated in the program had significantly improved self-efficacy in functioning in interprofessional teams from pre- to post-test. Conclusion An interprofessional education program can be a valuable addition to the health professions curriculum of nurse practitioner and dental students. Care must be taken to address logistical issues when working with students in different academic programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]