Social Media as a Tool for Campus Student Wellness Assessment

What are students’ perspectives on wellness? How does college life or the campus environment influence student wellness? What does it mean to be a “Healthy Campus”? These were the questions Sacramento State sought to answer through a research project examining campus wellness from a student perspective. Unique to this assessment was the use of social media as a tool to uncover students' perceptions. In this live briefing, presenters will discuss implementation of the assessment, findings, and next steps.

The assessment was sparked by the understanding, based on the socio-ecological model, that student wellness is influenced by both personal and environmental factors, over which a campus environment has large influence. Anecdotal evidence said many Sac State students struggle with wellness due to personal, financial, and academic pressures. Though the campus participates in the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey, little was known about students’ needs around creating a campus that supports all seven dimensions of wellness - career/financial, intellectual, emotional, socio-cultural, spiritual, environmental, and physical. The assessment aimed to serve as a preliminary step towards increasing understanding of students’ wellness needs.

This presentation is intended to provide participants with the ability to: 1) list valid data sources to develop a comprehensive picture of the campus wellness environment; 2) describe one university’s process of conducting a qualitative campus wellness assessment using social media; and 3) identify ways data collected via social media may be used to influence campus practices. Presenters will discuss the planning, development, and steps for implementing the research project; findings from the key informant interviews, focus groups, and windshield survey; and dissemination and use of the findings. The program format will be lecture, with time built in for Q & A and discussion.

Learning Outcomes

By attending this session, participants will be able to

• list valid data sources to develop a comprehensive picture of the campus wellness environment;
• describe one university’s process of conducting a qualitative campus wellness assessment using social media; and
• identify ways data collected via social media may be used to influence campus practices.