Top health concerns for the web
By: Angela Brantley
Health beat
LONG BEACH, Calif. (May 14, 2007) - Amber Prinzen, a junior at Cal State Long Beach, attended to her daily tasks after leaving an AA meeting on campus, which was the end of a chain of events that could happen to any CSULB student.
Prinzen is not alone when she admits that she has dealt with depression due to factors such as: stress, negative body images, costs of living and due to the recent loss of a family member from AIDS, which lead her to alcohol abuse.
Prinzen is one of the many students that deal with interconnecting health concerns among college students; research from academic databases through Cal State University Library identifies the top five concerns as alcohol abuse, mental disorders, eating disorders, health care costs and sexually transmitted diseases.
Binge drinking is more commonly referred to as five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in a span of two hours, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
“I had no idea that five drinks for men was considered binge drinking, maybe I do binge sometimes,” said senior at CSULB, Eric Yarger.
Binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, impaired judgment, a decrease in physical health, a decrease in mental health, lower grades and alcoholism, which can also lead to other consequences.
CSULB’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs program is dedicated to reducing these negative consequences, according to ATOD coordinator, Ralph Davis. Davis believes binge drinking “is the biggest concern…it is one of the most preventable losses of life.”
ATOD’s newest program is an electronic assessment called e-CHUG; it allows students to find out if their alcohol use is excessive.
E-CHUG also shows how alcohol is affecting one’s life based on your health, nutrition, finances and ones possibility to addiction due to hereditary factors.
After the tragedy of Virginia Tech, mental disorders should also be on high-alert for CSULB faculty and students.
Prinzen, like the gunman of Virginia Tech, also believes that she gave many signs to friends and family about her initial depression, “I just didn’t feel like doing anything anymore. I was to myself and that made things even worse.”
CSULB students and faculty should be highly aware of potential victims of mental disorders that can danger themselves and others.
Students at CSULB should take advantage of the counseling programs offered on campus. Through Counseling and Psychological Services, students can meet their personal challenges related to academic, career and personal goals.
Eating disorders are also on the rise for students; students are binge eating. A binge-eating disorder is characterized by binging on food at least twice a week for six months.
Stress caused by end-of-the-semester projects and finals will cause many to act on unhealthy eating habits.
“Often, food is used to relieve emotional distress – loneliness, sadness, anxiety. College students are certainly vulnerable to many of these factors,” said Tufts University Health Services Medical Director Dr. Margaret Higham.
“I would be upset, then drink, then eat, then be upset again and start the whole cycle over again. My eating habits were a cause and effect of my depression,” said Ashley Prinzen.
The Student Health Center also offers nutrition counseling for students interested in one hour, free sessions with a peer counselor.
A rise in health care costs may affect students. Health care costs are expected to double within ten years, according to abcnews.com, which means more people uninsured including CSULB students.
“College students make up the largest age-group of uninsured Americans; nearly one in three of the uninsured are between 18 and 24 years old,” according to aetna.com.
Student Health Services on campus allows for a few more options for students. SHS provides free visits, discounted prices at the pharmacy and emergency room health insurance.
While some prices at the pharmacy are discounted, others are not. Prices for birth control have increased.
For women who are trying to avoid the last concern, sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex just got more expensive on campus. Due to a federal law university health centers no longer benefit from the discounted prices of birth control.
For more information, students can contact ATOD or the Student Health Center through their Web site or by calling their offices at (562) 985-4609.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Student gives story a new spin
Yesterday, I attended an AA meeting at Cal State University, Long Beach. I joined this meeting in hopes to find a student that would be open to an interview and revealing his/her name.
I was lucky to find a student that was open to sharing her story in hopes to help out people like her -people who are affected by the top health concerns that are affecting college students today.
Her story created a humanistic feel to my final story by creating a focus lead that focuses on her story and then leads to the bigger picture.
I was lucky to find a student that was open to sharing her story in hopes to help out people like her -people who are affected by the top health concerns that are affecting college students today.
Her story created a humanistic feel to my final story by creating a focus lead that focuses on her story and then leads to the bigger picture.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
A press release turned into a news story
For my journalism class, we were given a press release from Dr.Mulligan and were given the assignment to write a news story out of it. We were given little information and had to further research the topic through academic databases to ensure accuracy.
After research, I found out about a lot of past accidents on rides at Disneyland that I had never heard of before. This assignment was very interesting. I enjoyed it because I plan on doing public relations for my profession.
After research, I found out about a lot of past accidents on rides at Disneyland that I had never heard of before. This assignment was very interesting. I enjoyed it because I plan on doing public relations for my profession.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
I got published in the 49er
Alcohol awareness month: how aware are you?
By: Angela Brantley
Health beat
Pubished in CSULB's Daily 49er
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 26, 2007) - April is Alcohol Awareness Month, but college students may not as aware as they should be; students are not acknowledging the impact of alcohol abuse or the programs on campus that are dedicated to educating, preventing and treating alcohol abuse.
Gary DeVercelly, a freshman at Rider University who is originally from Long Beach, died on March 30 after binge drinking at a fraternity party. Approximately 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 will die this year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Alcohol abuse, by college students, will also account for 599,000 injuries and 97,000 cases of sexual assault this year in the United States, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
One of the biggest problems associated with college drinking is binge drinking. Like DeVercelly, many students don’t realize their own limits for alcohol consumption.
Binge drinking, while there is no common consensus, is more commonly referred to as five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in a span of two hours; one drink is equivalent to a 12-ounce beer, four ounces of wine or a one-ounce shot of 100 proof liquor, according to NIAA.
“I had no idea that five drinks for men was considered binge drinking, maybe I do binge sometimes,” said Eric Yarger, a senior at Cal State Long Beach.
The amount of alcohol that is related to binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, impaired judgment, a decrease in physical health, a decrease in mental health, lower grades and alcoholism, which can also lead to other consequences.
CSULB’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) program is dedicated to reducing these negative consequences associated with college binge drinking, according to ATOD coordinator, Ralph Davis. Davis believes that binge drinking “is the biggest concern…it is one of the most preventable losses of life.”
One of ATOD’s newer programs is called e-CHUG, which allows students to find out if their alcohol use is excessive. E-CHUG is an electronic assessment that compares ones own drinking patterns to other people on campus, other people in the United States that are of the same age and gender and college students in general.
This assessment also shows how alcohol is affecting one’s life based on your health, nutrition, finances and ones possibility to addiction due to hereditary factors, according to Davis; “It just gives you a really good feedback.” This assessment is located on the ATOD Web site.
ATOD is currently trying to make the e-CHUG assessment mandatory for incoming freshmen or for students who move into the dorms, according to Davis.
ATOD also has a peer-education program in which peer educators are trained to work with students and have peer-to-peer conversations about drugs and alcohol.
Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco Education (D.A.T.E) is another on campus program dedicated to educating students. D.A.T.E. takes place in residence halls on Wednesday nights because typically college weekends start on Thursday nights. ATOD’s goal with D.A.T.E. is to help students plan and think about their weekends more and how to make safer choices.
By: Angela Brantley
Health beat
Pubished in CSULB's Daily 49er
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 26, 2007) - April is Alcohol Awareness Month, but college students may not as aware as they should be; students are not acknowledging the impact of alcohol abuse or the programs on campus that are dedicated to educating, preventing and treating alcohol abuse.
Gary DeVercelly, a freshman at Rider University who is originally from Long Beach, died on March 30 after binge drinking at a fraternity party. Approximately 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 will die this year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Alcohol abuse, by college students, will also account for 599,000 injuries and 97,000 cases of sexual assault this year in the United States, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
One of the biggest problems associated with college drinking is binge drinking. Like DeVercelly, many students don’t realize their own limits for alcohol consumption.
Binge drinking, while there is no common consensus, is more commonly referred to as five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in a span of two hours; one drink is equivalent to a 12-ounce beer, four ounces of wine or a one-ounce shot of 100 proof liquor, according to NIAA.
“I had no idea that five drinks for men was considered binge drinking, maybe I do binge sometimes,” said Eric Yarger, a senior at Cal State Long Beach.
The amount of alcohol that is related to binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, impaired judgment, a decrease in physical health, a decrease in mental health, lower grades and alcoholism, which can also lead to other consequences.
CSULB’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) program is dedicated to reducing these negative consequences associated with college binge drinking, according to ATOD coordinator, Ralph Davis. Davis believes that binge drinking “is the biggest concern…it is one of the most preventable losses of life.”
One of ATOD’s newer programs is called e-CHUG, which allows students to find out if their alcohol use is excessive. E-CHUG is an electronic assessment that compares ones own drinking patterns to other people on campus, other people in the United States that are of the same age and gender and college students in general.
This assessment also shows how alcohol is affecting one’s life based on your health, nutrition, finances and ones possibility to addiction due to hereditary factors, according to Davis; “It just gives you a really good feedback.” This assessment is located on the ATOD Web site.
ATOD is currently trying to make the e-CHUG assessment mandatory for incoming freshmen or for students who move into the dorms, according to Davis.
ATOD also has a peer-education program in which peer educators are trained to work with students and have peer-to-peer conversations about drugs and alcohol.
Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco Education (D.A.T.E) is another on campus program dedicated to educating students. D.A.T.E. takes place in residence halls on Wednesday nights because typically college weekends start on Thursday nights. ATOD’s goal with D.A.T.E. is to help students plan and think about their weekends more and how to make safer choices.
Monday, April 16, 2007
I got my interview
I finished my interview with ATOD coordinator, Ralph Davis. I stayed in contact with him for over two weeks while he planned a date and time that he would be available for an interview.
He was very easy to talk to and gave me everything that I needed for a sufficient story to hopefully get published in the Daily 49er and for the final story in my journalism class.
Overall, the interview was a success and I thank Mr. Ralph Davis.
He was very easy to talk to and gave me everything that I needed for a sufficient story to hopefully get published in the Daily 49er and for the final story in my journalism class.
Overall, the interview was a success and I thank Mr. Ralph Davis.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Health care costs are rising
The cost of health care is one of the main concerns for people today, including college students. The costs of health care are expected to double within ten years, according to abcnews.com.
If the costs for health care continuously increase employers may not be able to provide health care for their employees, leaving even more people uninsured. There are fewer options for health insurance these days.
If you would like to read more about how health care costs will effect Cal State Long Beach students, you can visit the Daily 49er online.
If the costs for health care continuously increase employers may not be able to provide health care for their employees, leaving even more people uninsured. There are fewer options for health insurance these days.
If you would like to read more about how health care costs will effect Cal State Long Beach students, you can visit the Daily 49er online.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Alcohol awareness month is taking over CSULB
ATOD- the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs- program at Cal State Long Beach identified April as Alcohol Awareness Month.
ATOD recognized the problems associated with college students and alcohol. It has created an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Meetings on campus and the award-winning D.A.T.E- drugs, alcohol and tobacco education.
Alcohol Awareness Month
Open to all students!
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2007
Location: Student Health Services,Rm 118
Times:
8:30am-10:30am:
"Psychiatric illness and addiction in college age population"
10:45am-12:15pm:
“HIV Co-morbidities: Psychiatric Illness and addiction”
To schedule a D.A.T.E , or for more information, contact the ATOD Program at (562) 985-2520.
ATOD recognized the problems associated with college students and alcohol. It has created an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Meetings on campus and the award-winning D.A.T.E- drugs, alcohol and tobacco education.
Alcohol Awareness Month
Open to all students!
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2007
Location: Student Health Services,Rm 118
Times:
8:30am-10:30am:
"Psychiatric illness and addiction in college age population"
10:45am-12:15pm:
“HIV Co-morbidities: Psychiatric Illness and addiction”
To schedule a D.A.T.E , or for more information, contact the ATOD Program at (562) 985-2520.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)