The ABC of Primary Care for University Students: a 3-Step Structured Approach at Geneva University Hospitals

Abstract

University and college students present specific health issues with vulnerabilities related to mental health and sexual health, risk-taking behaviors, and delayed access to primary care. A new student outpatient clinic was created in September 2016 at Geneva University Hospitals to respond to the health needs of this population. We present here the clinical management framework developed for a primary care consultation with students. A 3-step approach (ABC) was designed by expert consensus using different sources. A post-consultation satisfaction survey was conducted among students attending the clinic. The approach proposed 3 steps comprising general information, social evaluation, and preventive care. The importance of offering modern means of communication (online appointments, email exchanges with clinicians) was emphasized by experts. The question of cultural identity and connectedness was also addressed, especially for international students or those coming from a different Swiss region. In November 2018, a survey conducted among 128 patients out of 449 consultations showed that 94.5% agreed or totally agreed to recommend the consultation to fellow students, and 89% considered that care providers adequately addressed their specific student-related issues. A specific approach is needed in primary care for university/college students requiring particular competences across several domains. Our findings suggest that our approach is effective to cover the main health challenges faced by students. A comparison of the outcomes of this novel 3-step primary care consultation approach with non-structured approaches should be evaluated in future studies, including clinician’s satisfaction, elements of patient’s participation to governance, and medico-economic aspects.