A “CREDIBLE” health information website for students could make a significant contribution to their welfare, a new report says.
Alcohol misuse, mental health and sexual health are among the foremost issues which a central online health information resource could address, the report says.
Currently, young adults are experiencing an “information gap” in these areas, even though they are frequently online for both study and social networking, the report by NUI Galway’s (NUIG) health promotion research centre says.
A feasibility study by the NUIG centre was carried out in conjunction with medical, research and health promotion professionals at University College Cork (UCC), Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) and the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The report found that easily accessible, up-to-date, accurate and relevant information about key health issues, as well as information on local services, was “crucial” in providing better support for students’ health.
Third-level institutions offer a “key setting” for this, given that students are “constantly online, whether for their studies or for social networking”, according to NUIG health promotion officer Cindy Dring.
The report highlighted the credibility issues associated with the wide variety of health websites currently in existence. While students used the internet, they expressed a “sense of mistrust” about information gleaned, it noted.
The involvement of the HSE and third-level institutions would confer credibility upon a desktop resource designed for health information, the report said.
“We already know that similar resources have worked in other countries, like in Scotland,” Dr David McGrath, TCD’s director of health, said.
“What we didn’t know was what Irish students would want from such a service, or what was possible from a technical point of view, since each university has its own systems in place. This project has answered some of these questions for us,” he said. One central online health resource could be “localised” by each university, and the next step would be to develop a prototype, according to Dr Michael Byrne, UCC head of student health.
Brian Neeson of the HSE’s population health and health promotion division said a shared resource for universities would provide a “value for money” method of addressing student health.