How are you feeling? The first health monitoring launched at St Petersburg University
On 17 October, the first large study of student health started at St Petersburg University. The study encompasses all types of students related to the University, including college students and students of the Academic Gymnasium. The monitoring is devoted to the study of their physical and mental health. In this article, we will focus on how students can take part in this survey and why they should do that.
According to the definition of the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, social and psychological well-being. The health monitoring at St Petersburg University is aimed at studying all of these three aspects, with a separate question pool devoted to each of them in the questionnaire. The respondents are asked to talk about: their life in the hall of residence; sleep patterns; sports opportunities; their emotional state during the examination period; and many other important things to be considered when assessing the overall health.
’St Petersburg University has created a supportive learning environment. It launches many new academic programmes and courses. Moreover, the University develops unique practice opportunities at the University clinics. However, there are certain non-academic factors that affect the quality of the educational process and can negatively affect student life. The University tries to ensure that its students feel calm and safe in terms of their physical and psychological health. For example, various sports are available to our students. These include rock climbing, swimming, aerobics, and much more. There is a Psychological Clinic where every student can be consulted by professional psychologists free of charge,’ said Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University.
Monitoring the health of St Petersburg University students is not just a tool to influence their well-being, but also a method to develop a healthy lifestyle culture at the University. It is an opportunity to join the efforts of the University students and staff to benefit health, the greatest human value.
Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities, St Petersburg University
Health monitoring data from St Petersburg University will make it possible to assess the impact of various factors on the learning process and formulate recommendations for a healthy lifestyle for students. The survey participants will be able to talk about their health problems.
The survey does not require any personal data, so the answers will remain confidential. The results of the study will be presented in a generalised form and will help identify problems that all University students will need to focus on solving.
The health questionnaire was developed by students of the Sociological Clinic of Applied Research at St Petersburg University and professional sociologists and psychologists of the Centre for Sociological and Internet Research at St Petersburg University.
’It is very important that a significant part of the survey was developed by students. They understand their needs and problems better and can therefore formulate the right topics for research. At the same time, the quality of the survey was not affected. It was checked by some of the best experts in the field of health research and the Ethics Committee of St Petersburg University. At the moment, this is perhaps the best method for assessing the health of students and young people,’ said Aleksei Bulychev, a curator of the project and an employee in the Sociological Clinic for Applied Research at St Petersburg University.
The curators of the project also highlighted the interest of students in the questionnaire. Based on the results of the pilot study, the organisers received many positive comments and words of gratitude for their attention to all issues of concern. If it is uncomfortable for a student to answer any of the questions, they may skip it. The questionnaire also provides for the answer option "I do not want to tell". However, a fully completed questionnaire will help the researchers form the most comprehensive view of the health status of the students.
Our primary objective is to make the life of our students better. The research team consists mainly of students or recent graduates of St Petersburg University. We do know that studies do not always come easy.
Veronika Koroeva, a curator of the project and a specialist in the Centre for Sociological and Internet Research
’Often they are accompanied by stress, worries and inner turmoil that affect the general condition of students. We would like to be precise in identifying the factors that have a greater impact on the health of our students’, comments Veronika Koroeva, a curator of the project and a specialist of the Centre for Sociological and Internet Research.