Student Wellness Services to conduct online survey about student health

Student Wellness Services (SWS) is administering an online survey to better understand the health and wellness needs of students at Queen’s. 

Approximately 40 per cent of the student population will be randomly chosen to complete the survey between Jan. 28 and Feb. 15. 

The survey will be administered through the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) on behalf of the Division of Student Affairs, with the intention of collecting current information about student health habits, behaviours, and perceptions. 

The survey will ask questions about a range of health-related topics including nutrition, substance use, sexual behaviour, and mental health. According to the NCHA, the survey is entirely confidential and takes about 30 minutes to complete.

The results will help SWS identify common barriers to student wellness and make changes to the structure of its operations to better support students’ academic and personal successes. 

“[It] takes a holistic approach and provides us with valuable insight into what health-related issues most commonly affect academic success. Information gathered is used to help inform the health promotion initiatives, services, and programs we offer on campus,” Beth Blackett, Health Promotion Coordinator for SWS, wrote in an email to The Journal. 

The SWS survey comes just a weeks after Queen’s signed on to the Okanagan Charter, which calls for the consideration of wellness in all aspects of campus life. 

“This initiative aligns with a number of principles within the Okanagan Charter. We want to ensure we are taking a participatory approach and engaging the student voice,” Blackett wrote. “Student responses help ensure that what we are doing is evidence-based.”

Those selected to complete the survey will receive a web link through their student emails during the survey period.

“Queen’s is one of over 30 post-secondary institutions in Canada taking part in this survey, which means that, in addition to having student responses to inform change on our campus, it allows us to be part of sparking change at the provincial and national level,” Blackett said.