Understanding a Pacific Islander Young Adult Perspective on Access to Higher Education

The Pacific Islander (PI) community suffers disproportionately from illnesses and diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. While there are tremendous health needs within the PI community, there are few health care providers from the community that exist to help address these particular needs. Many efforts have focused on health care workforce diversity to reduce and eliminate health disparities, but few have examined the issues faced in the health care work force pipeline. Understanding educational attainment among PI young adults is pivotal in speaking to a diverse health care workforce where health disparities among Pacific Islanders (PIs) may be addressed. This paper provides an in-depth, qualitative assessment of the various environmental, structural, socio-economic, and social challenges that prevent PIs from attaining higher education; it also discusses the various needs of PI young adults as they relate to psychosocial support, retention and recruitment, and health career knowledge and access. This paper represents a local, Southern California, assessment of PI young adults regarding educational access barriers. We examine how these barriers impact efforts to address health disparities and look at opportunities for health and health-related professionals to reduce and care for the high burden of illnesses and diseases in PI communities

Sex and Alcohol on the College Campus: An Assessment of HIV-Risk Behaviors among AAPI College Students

Heavy alcohol use and its related consequences are seen as a top public health issue affecting college students. One of the major consequences of heavy alcohol use is unplanned and unprotected sexual activity which places college students at risk for HIV/AIDS. Little is known about the prevalence of alcohol use and sexual activity among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students. The Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc. (AADAP) sought to investigate the prevalence of alcohol use and its related problems among this population. The objectives of this exploratory study are twofold: (1) to examine the alcohol and other drug use, HIV-risk behaviors, and attitudes toward seeking services among AAPI college students, and (2) to recommend key strategies for a substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention program tailored to AAPI college students. With a convenience sample of 1,043 AAPI college students, we found that 75.7 percent of students currently drink alcohol with 20.6 percent being frequent users. In addition, frequent users of alcohol are seven times more likely to be sexually active than non-users. AAPI college students have a high knowledge of HIV transmission, yet having adequate knowledge does not seem to deter students from engaging in risky behaviors such as engaging in sexual activity after drinking or having unprotected sex. While further research of AAPI college students is needed, we recommend that a substance abuse and HIV prevention program be specifically tailored to AAPI college students. An intervention should be culturally tailored with AAPI-specific messages, peer-based, and allow for space where students can learn substance use resistance skills and improve HIV prevention behaviors

Influences of Lifestyle Profiles and Problematic Internet Use on Mental Distress in University Students

Hong Kong university students suffer a high prevalence of mental distress, but their lifestyle behaviors are not well-understood. We aimed to examine the relationship between mental distress, lifestyle behaviors, and problematic Internet use of this student population during the summer holiday and term-time. A two-cohort contrast group survey study was conducted. Students were surveyed in July during the summer holiday and September during term-time. The General Health Questionnaire-12, Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, and Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 were administered to measure mental distress, lifestyle behaviors, and problematic Internet use. 949 students (summer=467; term-time=482; Mage±SD, 20.11±1.54) participated in the study. Students reported statistically significant lower mental distress and higher spiritual growth during the summer holiday compared to term-time. The results of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) found that spiritual growth was directly associated with reduced mental distress and problematic internet use, and indirectly associated with reduced mental distress through a negative correlation with problematic internet use. Problematic internet use was positively correlated with mental distress. Physical activity was more associated with better mental health during the summer holiday and for female students. In contrast, Health management was associated with better mental health during term-time and for male students. In conclusion, spiritual growth supports mental health improvement and counters problematic internet use in university students in general, factors such as physical activity and health management show differential influences based on gender and time of year. Results may help inform the development of student support workshops in higher education