Read the full report
Why did We Explore the Influence of UCLA Environment on Graduate and Proessional Students' Health and Wellness ?
The 2014 Student Affairs Graduate and Professional Student Survey was administered online in Spring Quarter 2014 to all graduate and professional students at UCLA. The survey was designed with a Student Affairs focus and included items related to: perceptions of progress, mental health/wellness, use of time, financial concerns/resources, interactions with others, campus climate, self-ratings of skills, ethics in academia, international student issues, post-graduation plans, sense of community, and improvement of graduate/professional experience. In addition to a number of close ended wellness questions, the survey included an open-ended question that asked, “Is there anything you would like to tell us about the influence the UCLA environment has had on your ability to act in ways that are consistent with your health and wellness goals?” Written responses to this open-ended wellness item are the focus of this analysis.
What did We Find?
Overall, five major themes emerged from the open ended responses regarding how UCLA’s campus environment influences students’ ability to obtain their health and wellness goals:
1) Lack of Healthy and/or Affordable Food on Campus
2) Structural Barriers to Health & Wellness Resources
3) Limited Availability of Mental Health Services
4) Intersections of Race, Campus Climate and Mental Health for Underrepresented Minorities
5) Limited Knowledge of Health & Wellness Resources
How Can the Findings Inform Practice?
In order to address the concerns identified by students, UCLA can partake in several institutional change efforts:
- Increasing Access to Healthy, Affordable Food for Students via Community Partnerships;
- Addressing Structural Barriers to Health & Wellness Resources with Innovation & Resource Redistribution;
- Increasing Capacity of Mental Health Services
- Providing Identity-Based Mental Health Services
- Increased Outreach for Health & Wellness Resources
The suggestions offered in this report are multidimensional and attempt to address students’ overarching concerns about campus climate, affordability, diversity, resource allocation and equity in each categorical solution offered. Thus, each change effort is comprehensive and holistic rather than singular in its focus and draw on the direct suggestions of the students’ themselves.
Did you know you can request additional information about this topic?
Use SAIRO's Data Request Form to get started.*SAIRO does not release raw data