Promoting Good Health for Community College Students. ERIC Digest.

This digest discusses a variety of methods that community colleges have employed to integrate health care into the curriculum and campus services. Providing health care in community colleges is particularly challenging due to the lack of institutional resources, as compared with four-year colleges and universities where the residential living situation necessitates on-campus health care facilities. Since community colleges have so few resources, they are often unable to support any kind of clinical structure. The few existing facilities are rarely comprehensive and unlikely to maintain full-time staffs. In addition, community colleges have the largest populations of low-income and minority students, who are generally more at risk for health problems due to their economic and social circumstances. Competent prevention strategies, such as promoting health in curricular content, peer education, and service learning opportunities, should be pursued by community colleges. Partnering with local organizations and hospitals might also be an effective means of providing health care on campus. Finally, making students aware of what is available in the community, or bringing those services to them, may be the most responsible way a community college can offer health services to its students. (Contains 11 references.) (EMH)