The American College Health Foundation (ACHF), through an education grant from Hologic, created a new report examining how recent court cases and legislation related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) have impacted the lives of college students and campus professionals across the U.S. Through the use of an environmental scan and a series of student and campus professional focus groups, the following themes emerged:
- The increased role of external stakeholders has decentered the relationship between students and campus health care providers – and displaced evidence-informed care as the standard for providing SRH on campus.
- Trust between students, campus health care providers, and institutions of higher education has eroded.
- The rapid pace of change creates challenges for providers and institutions and requires an adaptive and flexible approach to the provision of health education and care.
This report identifies the challenges and opportunities to support college student SRH, as well as recommendations for areas of future inquiry to foster student well-being in today’s complex SRH landscape.
“Daily, the clinic schedules are full of people traveling to seek health care that has been banned in other states. This strains the already limited health care in our community. ”
— Nurse practitioner working on and off campus, state with protective policies
“It’s really hard as a member of the campus community [when] all you want to do is to provide those resources and to create better access and try to reverse [students’ distrust, but just the fact that we are a state organization can be a source for institutional distrust].”
— Health educator at a public university in a state with restrictive policies
ACHF, the philanthropic arm of the of the American College Health Association (ACHA), seeks to promote, improve, and advance the health, well-being, and overall success of college students. Since 1920, ACHA has served as the voice for student health and wellness. Through advocacy, research and education, ACHA stands at the forefront of issues that impact the health and wellness of our college students. For more information, see www.acha.org.
We welcome your feedback and ideas for future inquiry. To share your thoughts on this report, please contact Claudia Trevor-Wright or Alex Phelan.
For questions about ACHA or ACHF, please contact ACHA’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, Robyn Buchsbaum.
