American Journal of Health Studies

Depression, anxiety, and perceived institutional support among US undergraduate and graduate students

2025-09-24T15:59:24+00:00

Mental health has become an increasingly important public health issue on college campuses. The current study examined depression, anxiety, and perceptions of institutional support for graduate and undergraduate students. Results show that undergraduate students have higher levels of depression (M = 12.5, SD = 5.98) and anxiety (M = 14.0, SD = 5.15) compared to graduate students (M = 10.03, SD = 5.05; M = 11.6, SD = 5.35, respectively). There are differences in perceptions of institutional support for undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate students report lower levels of perceived organizational support for health (M = 97, SD = 8.13) and organizational trust (M = 11.26, SD = 3.58) compared to graduate students (M = 28.14, SD = 8.35; M = 12.58, SD = 3.59, respectively). For perceptions of organizational diversity, undergraduate students report higher levels (M = 18.14, SD = 4.18 for undergraduate students versus M = 17.84, SD – 4.52 for graduate students). Results are also provided for students by year in school. Linear regression was done to understand how depression and anxiety is associated with institutional perceptions. As perceptions of institutional support for mental health and organizational trust go up, depression and anxiety rates go down. As perceptions of institutional support for diversity go up, depression and anxiety also go up. Institutions of higher education should provide targeted mental health programming by year in school. Institutions should also work to improve campus climate to improve mental health.

Chronic disease self-management telehealth program for college students

2025-09-16T15:11:20+00:00

Self-management of chronic diseases is important for all age groups, especially for college students as they develop and transition to adulthood, increasing their prevalence of chronic disease risk factors. Inconvenience, lack of access, and cost may be barriers for their participation in chronic disease self-management programs. This study explored self- management knowledge and skills of a small group of college students attending a free, six-week long, telehealth-based, chronic disease self-management program led by a provider Leader and a college-aged lay Leader. Topics ranged from disease and medication management to patient-provider communication. Participants met once per week for two hours via telehealth, received a companion textbook, and were instructed through slide shows and interactive activities. The Partners in Health Scale was used to assess participant-reported, self-management knowledge and skill levels before and after the program. Participants reported significantly better knowledge and self-management of their chronic disease pre- to post-program for understanding conditions and treatments, patient-provider communication, physical activity level regulation, and symptom tracking. Results of this exploratory study suggest that telehealth-based chronic disease self-management programs for students at colleges and universities can be a clinically effective part of a support program for those whose academic and extracurricular participation are affected by their chronic condition. It is recommended that larger and more comprehensive studies be conducted in the future to confirm the current findings. Nonetheless, there is potential utility for telehealth-based chronic disease self-management program options as part of disease management programming to improve participant knowledge and self-management skill building.

School-based interventions for mental health promotion: A systematic review of evidence-based practices at the global level

2025-09-11T08:34:15+00:00

School-based interventions support children’s holistic well-being by promoting mental health,

fostering resilience, and enhancing social, academic, and physical development. This systematic review aimed to synthesize current evidence-based research on school mental health promotion interventions. Another objective is to analyze the reported outcomes of interventions to review current policies and available resources. A comprehensive search within MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), and Google Scholar was conducted using different combinations of keywords “school-based”, “intervention”, “mental health”, “evidence-based”, “theory” and “promotion” by using the Boolean operators “AND” and “OR”. Studies were included from December 1, 2017, to October 31, 2024, study design (randomized control trials), age ≤ 18, all genders, and English language. Studies were excluded based on inception year, age ≥ 18 years, study designs other than mentioned above, and non-English language. Quality assessment was performed with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool for randomized controlled trials. A total of 24 studies were included, identifying a total of 32 evidence-based mental health interventions. These school-based mental health promotion interventions utilized combined frameworks (n=7), cognitive behavioral therapy (n=5), mindfulness theory (n=3), mental health literacy (n=3), diathesis-stress model (n=3), WHO-approved FRIENDS program (n=2), social cognitive theory(n=1). A combination of programs and frameworks were utilized in 5 out of 24 studies. School-based interventions effectively reduce depression, anxiety, and psychosocial challenges in youth, promoting well-being. More rigorous research is needed to enhance evidence-based interventions, consider contextual influences, and evaluate broader societal benefits of empowering children in mental health prevention.

Individualism, Apathy, and Polarization: Critical Threats to Public Health

2025-09-15T18:46:08+00:00

The COVID-19 pandemic represented an unprecedented challenge for the public health community. This challenge shed light on a host of social and cultural threats facing our nation. The purpose of this commentary is to examine three of these threats within the context of public health. Specifically, individualism, apathy, and polarization are presented through selected examples to advance knowledge for public health practice.