Proportion Of College Students Research Articles

The Current Situation and Enhancement of College Students' Mental Health

The purpose of this study is to investigate college students and examine the current status of their mental health, so as to provide a basis for improving the mental health of college students. Three hundred and ninety-six college students were selected as the research subjects and their mental health was investigated by questionnaire method. The results showed that: 1. The mean scores of each dimension of SCL-90 and the mean scores of SCL-90 total scores ranged from 1.2654 to 1.7997, which were higher than the theoretical value of asymptomatic (1 point); the SCL-90 total scores were also higher than the theoretical value of asymptomatic (90 points). 2. The number of college students whose mean scores of each of the 10 dimensions of SCL-90, and whose mean scores of the total score of the scale reached the score of the positive symptom determinationranged from 9.09% to 31.06%; the proportion of college students whose total scores on the SCL-90 reached the positive symptom determination score was 16.41%, and the level of college students' mental health was relatively low.3. Effective and feasible methods to improve college students' mental health have been proposed. This study not only investigates the current situation of college students' mental health, but also provides empirical support and theoretical guidance for improving college students' mental health.

Experiencing art creation as a therapeutic intervention to relieve anxiety -a case study of a university's ceramic art course.

University students are anxiety prone. Due to their changing their social roles, the proportion of university students with anxiety is relatively high. In this study, using the simple random sampling, we surveyed 53 university students, including sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This paper examines the relationship between art creation and anxiety. This study uses the Self-Assessment Anxiety Scale (SAS). The test form measures the presence and extent of their anxiety problems through a series of questions. We tested the effects of an art creation process on SAS scores and suggest best practices for course settings and teaching methods for art-related subjects. Art therapy intervention reduced anxiety. The most effective technique was found to be slapping the clay board during the creation process. Other actions relieved anxiety as well. Results suggest that the art creation process is an application of art therapy effective in relieving anxiety in university students. Key actions in the process of creating art are closely related to the treatment approaches used in art therapy interventions. This has the potential to not only improve mental health, but also to promote the health and well-being of students. Implications for future research: Rapid societal changes increasing competition for employment creates work and life pressures. University students face challenges with learning, peer competition, and employment, often resulting in anxiety. A diversified curriculum can alleviate anxiety through proper curricular planning and design. Based on this, the university's arts courses should be able to study how to improve and optimize the existing teaching and learning outcomes and can be integrated with the university's general education curriculum planning. Through appropriate teaching content and learning methods, the courses of university general education can play a role in reducing students' anxiety and promote physical and mental health, thus contributing to sustainable development of the society.

Effect of physical exercise on sleep quality in college students: Mediating role of smartphone use.

To investigate the effect of physical exercise on sleep quality and the mediating effect of smartphone use behavior in college students. A cross-sectional study design was adopted. An online survey of 5,075 college students was conducted using the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale. The sleep quality of college students was poor, and the proportion of college students with good sleep quality was 23.567%. A significant correlation existed between sleep quality and physical exercise (r = -0.159, P < 0.001) and mobile phone addiction (r = 0.355, P < 0.001). Physical exercise can predict sleep quality in college students (β = -0.011, P < 0.001). Smartphone use plays a part in mediating the process by which physical exercise affects sleep quality. Chinese college students have poor sleep quality. Physical exercise and smartphone use behavior are important factors affecting the sleep quality of college students. Physical exercise can directly predict the sleep quality of college students and can predict the sleep quality of college students through the mediating effect of smartphone use behavior.

Interactive effects of sleep and physical activity on depression among rural university students in China.

Decreased sleep quality and physical activity among university students have become important concerns, while depressive symptoms are on the rise, especially in rural areas. Previous studies have confirmed the association between sleep quality and physical activity and depressive symptoms, but the effect of their interaction on depressive symptoms has been less studied. For this reason, the present study analyzed the interaction between sleep quality and physical activity on depressive symptoms to provide reference and assistance for mental health promotion and intervention for university students in rural areas of China. In this study, we investigated sleep quality, physical activity, and depressive symptoms in 11,423 university students in rural areas of China. The association of sleep quality and physical activity with depressive symptoms was analyzed by using univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis. And further analyzed the association between the interaction effect of sleep quality and physical activity and depressive symptoms. The proportion of university students with depressive symptoms in rural China was 33.3%, with a higher proportion of girls students (36.7%) having depressive symptoms than boys students (28.8%). Logistic regression analysis of the interaction between sleep quality and physical activity and depressive symptoms in university students showed that university students with poor sleep quality and MVPA>60 min/d (OR = 4.40,95% CI: 3.75-5.05) had the highest risk of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). University students with moderate sleep quality and MVPA of 30-60 min/d (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.75-1.61) had the lowest risk of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). Moreover, there was no gender difference in this result. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher among university students in rural areas of China. There was an interaction between sleep quality and MVPA on depressive symptoms, maintaining a good quality of sleep and an appropriate length of MVPA has a contributory effect on mental health, and the same trend was found for both boys and girls students. It is recommended that university students in rural areas of China should first maintain proper sleep quality while maintaining 30-60 min of MVPA per day, which may reduce the risk of depressive symptoms.

Knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and treatment, and willingness to receive HPV vaccination among college students in China

BackgroundCervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Up to 99% of cervical cancer cases are associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Sexual behavior is a direct risk factor for HPV infection, and sexually active college students, therefore, receive attention for HPV vaccination. At present, most Chinese studies lack of in-depth research on influencing factors, and are limited to cervical cancer, HPV, or HPV vaccine, without comprehensive consideration. This study investigated Chinese college students’ cervical cancer prevention and treatment knowledge level, and explored the influencing factors, and understood their willingness to receive HPV vaccination. The findings of this study will lay a foundation for promoting the early screening of cervical cancer and vaccination process.MethodsA total of 800 college students from four universities in Zhengzhou, China were selected by multistage random sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire on the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and treatment, and willingness to receive HPV vaccination was carried out. A logistic regression model was conducted to analyze factors influencing knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and treatment among college students.ResultsUp to 87.9% of college students said they had heard of cervical cancer. The proportion of college students with good knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and treatment was 46.7%. Logistic regression showed that gender, major, grade, level of education, the father's level of education, premarital sex attitude, and mother cervical cancer screening participation had a significant influence on cervical cancer prevention and treatment knowledge level (P < 0.05). In addition, 589 (74.0%) of college students had heard of HPV vaccine, and 92.8% of college students said they were willing to get vaccinated or recommended that their relatives and friends get vaccinated.ConclusionsThe knowledge level of cervical cancer prevention and treatment knowledge among college students in Zhengzhou is low. Many of them had poor knowledge about HPV vaccine, but their willingness to vaccination is high. Various health education modes should be carried out for people with different characteristics, to improve their knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and promote the vaccination process.

Analysis model of college students' mental health based on online community topic mining and emotion analysis in novel coronavirus epidemic situation.

Under the epidemic situation of COVID-19, university students have different levels of anxiety, depression, and other psychological problems, and these differing levels present different challenges. Therefore, universities and relevant departments should carry out accurate psychological health education for university students. Through research, this paper found that students' psychological problems during the COVID-19 epidemic were mainly reflected in four aspects: depression, interpersonal relationship, sleep and eating disorders, and compulsive behavior. Through the discussion of family of origin, self-awareness and motivation attribution, and social pressure, this paper analyzed the causes of psychological problems. The information resources of the network are usually unstructured data, and the text information, as the most typical unstructured data, occupies a large proportion. Moreover, this text information often contains users' emotional response to major events. In this paper, a data preprocessing system is designed, and three data preprocessing rules are defined: expression data conversion rules, data deduplication rules and invalid data cleaning rules. The characteristics of online community text data are analyzed, and the text feature extraction method is selected according to its characteristics. The results of this study show that the proportion of university students with psychological problems is about 23%, which is slightly higher than the research results during the non-epidemic period. This paper suggests that college students should master methods of self-regulation, improve their levels of physical exercise, improve their physical fitness, and establish and improve their defense mechanisms to alleviate psychological conflicts and pressures.

Prediction of the Forwarding Volume of Campus Microblog Public Opinion Emergencies Using Neural Network

With the continuous expansion of colleges and universities, the proportion of college students among netizens has increased rapidly. They have become an important component of Chinese netizens and the main audience of Weibo. It is easier for online public opinion to form in some social media platforms than in others. We explain places for political conversation in Chinese cyberspace in terms of interaction, which results in various types of political discussion, based on research on authoritarian deliberation. The crisis of college network public opinion caused by the improper use of Weibo by college students occurs frequently. College network public opinion has become an important factor affecting the development and stability of colleges and universities. Social network rumor forwarding behavior refers to whether users forward specific rumors. Also, there is no surety about the truthfulness of the rumor. Taking Weibo as an example, this paper proposes a neural network-based model for predicting the forwarding volume of public opinion emergencies on campus Weibo. It solves the problem of low prediction accuracy of traditional SVM and other models. The data-driven experimental findings suggest that the technique described in this study can increase the accuracy of predicting forwarding volume in unexpected campus public opinion events.

The Attitudes towards Autonomous Vehicles in a Medium-Sized Academic-Dominated U.S. Metropolitan Area With Cold Winters

Autonomous vehicles, AVs, as an emerging technology will contribute to fundamental changes in the transportation of cities. Medium-sized academic-dominated U.S. towns with cold winters and a large proportion of college students and employees are some of the regions with special travel patterns that may potentially contribute to a different perception of AVs. Using a stated preference survey in the two main universities in the Fargo-Moorhead area, perceived usefulness, perceived risk, and a winter-related variable defined as transportation safety improvement by AVs in inclement weather were simultaneously modeled. Given that the respondents agreed with the stated usefulness and risks of AVs, not being single was associated with an increased likelihood of agreeing with the winter-related variable for the respondents above 25. Low income households were associated with a 25% increase in the likelihood of agreeing with the winter-related variable for the respondents in the non-student model.

Model Analysis of Applying Computer Monitoring to College Students’ Mental Health

In the past 20 years, although there are many achievements in the model analysis and research, there are still problems of low data utilization and low accuracy. This paper analyzes the mental health level of college students based on chaotic algorithm. At the same time, the application of computer monitoring algorithm to students’ real life psychology is discussed. According to different types of mental health analysis models, the high-precision matching analysis of different students is realized. At the same time, according to the personality characteristics and psychological changes of different students, the model is established and analyzed. Finally, an experiment is designed to carry out practical application and data analysis of the mental health analysis model. The results show that the intelligent analysis model based on computer chaos algorithm has better classification effect. In addition, the algorithm can also make different evaluation strategies according to the different personality of students and can carry out multidimensional classification for college students of different majors. It has effectively increased the proportion of college students’ mental health groups. Compared with the current mainstream algorithms, the algorithm used in this study can adaptively classify college students of different majors. The accuracy of the experimental results is improved by at least 37% compared with the traditional method, and the error is low.

Practical Research on the Development of Physical Exercise and Physical Education Training Based on 5G Technology.

The traditional physical education teaching model in colleges and universities is basically based on “teaching” to teach learning, to cultivate the knowledge and skills of college students, and to master some scientific physical exercise methods and skills. This article was aimed at conducting research based on the practice of 5G technology to help physical exercise development and physical education training. This article first discusses the importance of outreach training in physical education. It is feasible to implement expansion training in physical education, and it can have a profound impact. It can have a great impact on students' personality, psychology, and work attitude and will greatly help them enter the society in the future. At the same time, this article introduces the human movement data monitoring method based on 5G technology. It expounds on the two aspects of human body posture description method and exercise data parameter calculation and analyzes and discusses the exercise time, exercise frequency, exercise intensity, exercise items, and exercise persistence of college students of different genders, disciplines, and grades. The results of the study show that the proportion of college students who take part in physical exercise every time “within 0.5 hours” is the highest, which is 40% of the total sample size. The option of “1.5 hours or more” is the least, only 11% of the total number of people. There is a significant difference between the two, indicating that college students should strengthen physical exercise.

Feasibility, acceptability and costs of nurse-led Alpha-Stim cranial electrostimulation to treat anxiety and depression in university students

BackgroundOnly a relatively low proportion of university students seek help for anxiety and depression disorders, partly because they dislike current drug and psychological treatment options and would prefer home-based care. The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility, acceptability and cost utility of Alpha-Stim cranial electrostimulation (CES) delivered through a nurse led primary care clinic as a daily treatment for anxiety and depression symptoms by the student at home in contrast to usual primary care.MethodFeasibility and acceptability of a nurse led clinic offering Alpha-Stim CES in terms of the take up and completion of the six-week course of Alpha-Stim CES. Change in score on the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 as measures of anxiety and depression symptoms at baseline and at 8 weeks following a course of Alpha-Stim CES. Similar evaluation in a non-randomised control group attending a family doctor over the same period. Cost-utility analysis of the nurse led Alpha-Stim CES and family doctor pathways with participants failing to improve following further NICE Guideline clinical care (facilitated self-help and cognitive behaviour therapy).ResultsOf 47 students (mean age 22.1, years, 79% female opting for Alpha-Stim CES at the nurse-led clinic 46 (97.9%) completed a 6-week daily course. Forty-seven (47) students comprised a comparison group receiving usual family doctor care. Both Alpha-Stim CES and usual family doctor care were associated with large effect size reductions in GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores from baseline to 8 weeks. There were no adverse effects and only one participant showed a clinically important deterioration in the Alpha-Stim group. In the cost utility analysis, Alpha-Stim CES was a cheaper option than usual family doctor care under all deterministic or probabilistic assumptions.ConclusionNurse delivered Alpha-Stim CES may be a feasible, acceptable and cheaper way of providing greater choice and home-based care for some university students seeking help from primary care with new presentations of anxiety and depression.

Screening on Collect Students: Postural Risk Factors of Spinal Musculoskeletal Problems and Scoliosis

Background: Overuse of electronic products and decrease in levels of physical activity may lead to an increased incidence of spinal health problems in college students. This study aims to 1) identify the incidence of spinal health problems in college students, 2) to explore the key postural factors in development of spinal musculoskeletal dysfunction and scoliosis, and 3) to clarify new strategies for early identification and prevention of scoliosis. Methods: A cross-sectional screening by static posture assessment, selective functional movement assessment (SFMA) and Adam’s Forward Bend Test,was conducted to 306 college students from October to December 2019. Descriptive analysis, Spearman correlation analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis were performed on the collected data. Results: Static postural assessment was completed among 306 college students, 53% of students’ external auditory meatus and acromioclavicular joint were not in the same gravitational line, 45% had forward-head posture, 42% had uneven shoulders. When performing SFMA, we found spinal musculoskeletal dysfunctions, including abnormalities of multi-segment spine flexion (32%), cervical rotation to right (18%), cervical rotation to left (16%), etc. In Adam’s Forward Bend Test, 10.78% had a positive result, which suggested structural or functional scoliosis. Correlation analysis showed that the top three postural factors related to spinal musculoskeletal dysfunctions included uneven shoulders, forward-head, position of thorax and pelvis rotated. And top three postural factors related to scoliosis were spinous processes line deviating from midline, winged scapula and head rotation off midline. Logistic regression analysis displayed that there are two high risk factors for scoliosis, including external auditory meatus and acromioclavicular joint not in the same vertical line (OR = 6.314), and deviation of spinous processes line (OR = 12.743). Conclusions: Poor posture, spinal musculoskeletal dysfunction and scoliosis affect a significant proportion of college students. While their spinal musculoskeletal dysfunction and scoliosis are closely related to poor posture.

Oral-Genital Contact and the Meaning of \u201cHad Sex\u201d: The Role of Social Desirability

Previous studies have found that a large proportion of college students do not consider oral-genital contact as having “had sex.” In all studies, the questions posed were hypothetical. In the present study, university students were asked about their own personal sexual experiences. From a large pool of participants, two subgroups were identified: those who responded “No” to having “had sex” but responded “Yes” to having had oral-genital contact (No–Yes), and those who responded “Yes” to having had both sex and oral-genital contact (Yes–Yes). None of the participants in these two subgroups self-reported vaginal or anal intercourse. The No–Yes group was significantly higher in social desirability (p < .0005) as measured by the Marlowe-Crowne scale and was also significantly higher in religiosity (p < .01) as measured on a 7-point Likert scale. There was a modest correlation between level of religiosity and social desirability (r = .25, p < .01). It was concluded that many students who have had oral-genital contact but deny having had sex do so because of impression management, i.e., a desire to present themselves more positively. These results provide further evidence that social desirability responding is a serious problem for sex researchers, one that affects even the most basic questions about having had sex.

Research on the Influencing Factors of College Students' Entrepreneurial Intention under the Background of Internet Celebrity Economy

As an emerging medium produced by the development of the Internet, online celebrity live broadcasting has been integrated into the daily life of young students by virtue of its own unique advantages, and has become an important factor affecting the employment concept of college students. The rapid growth of the Internet celebrity economy provides a new fulcrum for students' innovation and entrepreneurship, and plays a positive role in expanding the employment channels for college students. At present, college students' entrepreneurship is still in the primary stage of development, and the proportion of college students' entrepreneurship in the total number is not high. How to improve college students' entrepreneurial willingness has become a common concern of the country and society. Based on the theory of planned behaviour, this paper deeply studies the influence of college students' entrepreneurial cognition factors, entrepreneurial environment factors and entrepreneurial ability factors on their entrepreneurial intentions. SPSS and Amos 21 software were used for analysis, and the research method of structural equation model was used to verify the influencing factors model of college students' entrepreneurial intention and related hypotheses. Based on the empirical results, this paper puts forward the countermeasures and suggestions for cultivating and enhancing the entrepreneurial intention of college students from the government and colleges.

Association between Awareness on Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Misuse Among Saudi University Students

Background: Saudi Arabia has the highest prevalence of resistant pathogens in the Gulf Region, with a rapid increase in antibiotic resistance seen in recent years. Misuse is common despite laws prohibiting dispensing antibiotics without prescription. This study was conducted to determine the association between awareness of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic misuse among Saudi university students. Specifically, it aimed to determine the proportion of university students who were aware of antibiotic resistance, the proportion of university students who were aware that antibiotic resistance is a public health problem, the prevalence of antibiotic misuse among university students, and the association between awareness and antibiotic misuse. Methods: The study utilized an analytic cross-sectional design. By using a self-administrated survey, responses on awareness of antibiotic resistance as well as antibiotic use among bachelor students were obtained. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling was conducted to select the required 825 participants. Epi Info® version 7 was used to estimate the proportion of students who were aware of antibiotic resistance as well as the proportion of students who misused antibiotics. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between awareness of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use. Results: Over 75% of university students were aware of antibiotic resistance (95% CI: 72.09% - 77.98%), while 54.67% (95% CI: 51.26% - 58.03%) were aware that antibiotic resistance is a public health problem. Nearly 67% misused antibiotics (95% CI: 63.63% - 70.04%) with failure to follow the prescribed number of days of antibiotic therapy and using leftover antibiotics as the most common forms of misuse. Students who were aware of antibiotic resistance were 27.96% less likely to misuse antibiotics (OR = 0.7204, p = 0.0642). Those who were aware that antibiotic resistance is a public health problem were 51.32% less likely to misuse antibiotics (OR = 0.4868, p &lt; 0.0001). Conclusion: Awareness of antibiotic resistance is associated with lower antibiotic misuse. Education campaigns on the consequences of inappropriate antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic resistance should be intensified.

A Higher Education Health Evaluation Model

In response to the current trend of world higher education development, a healthy higher education system has had a profound impact on all dimensions of a country. This article established a higher education health evaluation model in response to the subject's requirements. This article screened 10 indicators such as the number of Nobel Prizes won, the number of national SCI papers, and the proportion of college students in the country’s total population as secondary indicators. Then, the principal component analysis method was utilized to reduce the dimensionality of the data. Finally, the index is extracted into three first-level indicators, namely Access, Education achievement, and Quality of education to evaluate higher education system.

Depression and Coping Styles of College Students in China During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The rapid spread and uncertain outcome of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) around the world have caused worry, fear, and stress among the general population. Nevertheless, the prevalence of depression among college students in China during lockdown, following the COVID-19 pandemic, and their coping strategies have not been quantitatively assessed.Objective: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression among college students in China during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and assess their coping strategies.Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to assess the prevalence of depression among college students in China and their coping strategies.Results: The results indicated that, during lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence rates of college students in China suffering from mild, moderate, and severe depression were 25% (95% CI = 17–33%), 7% (95% CI = 2–14%), and 2% (95% CI = 1–5%), respectively. Besides, the proportion of college students who use WeChat and Weibo to acquire COVID-19 knowledge was 39% (95% CI = 13–68%), whereas the proportion of college students using mental health application services (APPs) to deal with depression was 59% (95% CI = 41–73%).Conclusions: The prevalence of depression among college students in China was high during the lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, considering the adverse outcomes of depression, it is imperative to screen college students in China for depression during the CIVID-19 pandemic and provide them with necessary psychological interventions to control and prevent depression. Social media platforms, such as WeChat and Weibo, and mental health APPs could provide an opportunity for psychological health information dissemination for college students. However, their effectiveness in reducing depression will have to be assessed.

Utilização de métodos contraceptivos entre discentes do curso de Enfermagem de uma Universidade do Nordeste

Este estudo busca analisar o perfil das acadêmicas do curso de Enfermagem quanto à utilização de métodos contraceptivos. Trata-se de estudo quantitativo descritivo de corte transversal e tem como participantes 133 alunas do curso, do 1° ao 10° período, ingressantes de 2013 a 2017. Os dados foram coletados de setembro a novembro de 2018, através de entrevista semiestruturada. O perfil predominante das participantes é apresentado como: solteiras, com idade média de 23 anos, declarando-se estudantes. Delas, 94% mantém relacionamento heterossexual, a sexarca com maior porcentagem foi de 16-20 anos (45%), tendo o preservativo masculino como método contraceptivo mais utilizado. O coito interrompido (17%) e o anticoncepcional oral (16%) são os mais utilizados na sequência. Grande parcela das universitárias (84,6%), afirmou nunca ter utilizado o preservativo feminino. Das participantes, 8% já obtiveram gravidez não planejada e 5% já adquiriram alguma Infecção Sexualmente Transmissível (IST). Conclui-se que as estudantes, apesar de possuírem acesso facilitado à informação, ainda necessitam de espaços de educação em saúde sexual promovidos através de oferta de disciplinas eletivas como também rodas de conversas e oficinas relacionadas ao tema.

The Levels of COVID-19 Related Health Literacy among University Students in Vietnam.

BackgroundVietnam is among the few countries that were successful in the fight against the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, subsequent domestic outbreaks of COVID-19 continue to occur. To sharp the community education program to guarantee the final success in the fight against COVID-19 in Vietnam and comparable countries, we examined the levels of COVID-19 knowledge and associated predictors among university students in Vietnam.Materials and MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on all students enrolling at Phenikaa University using a self-developed questionnaire consisted of 20 questions regarding COVID-19's risk factors, transmission routes, symptoms, and prevention.ResultsAmong 728 participants, 40.9% were male, 63.2% studied health-related majors, and 18.1% lived alone. Correct response rates ranged from 25.3% to 98.9% across 20 questions. Only 51.9% (378/728) of participants had good knowledge levels. Studying health majors (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.547, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.398 - 0.751, P <0.001), and living with the seniors (AOR 0.612, 95% CI 0.389 - 0.963, P = 0.034) or with friends (AOR 0.405, 95% CI 0.252 – 0.650, P <0.001) were negatively associated with a poor level of COVID-19 knowledge.ConclusionThe proportion of university students having good knowledge levels is suboptimal. It is essential to improve the quality of COVID-19 education with a more focus on not only the preventive measures, but also the disease itself. More studies are needed to improve the level of COVID-19 knowledge among those living alone or do not study health-related majors.

Characteristics associated with changes in food security status among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prevalence of food insecurity in the USA has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, past studies have not examined how the food security status of college students has been impacted. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the prevalence of food insecurity; determine the proportion of students experiencing a change in food security status; and identify characteristics associated with changes in food security status from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of college students. We administered a cross-sectional online survey to students from a large public university in the Southeastern USA. The 10-item U.S. Adult Food Security Module was used to assess food security status during the spring 2020 semester both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and students self-reported a variety of individual characteristics. The overall prevalence of food insecurity increased by approximately one-third during the spring 2020 semester from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. When examining the types of changes in food security status experienced by students, 12% improved, 68% stayed the same, and 20% worsened. A variety of characteristics were associated with an improvement or worsening of food security status category from before to during the pandemic. Similar to what is seen in other reports, we found that the overall proportion of college students in our sample experiencing food insecurity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, some students showed improvements in food security status. Approaches for addressing food insecurity during and beyond the pandemic are needed.