Strengths and Challenges of the Development of a Health and Wellness Program at a Small, Liberal Arts Women’s College

Angela ArmijoAssistant Director of Student Health and Wellness

Scripps CollegeClaremont, CA

Presentation Overview Background and HistoryProgram DevelopmentImplementationYear 2Future Planning

Claremont Colleges 7-institution consortium located in Claremont, California

Harvey MuddClaremont McKenna Pomona CollegeScripps CollegePitzer College

Shared resourcesCampus SafetyStudent Health Services CounselingHealth Education

Campus Culture• Liberal arts women’s college

• Rooted in social justice, diversity and inclusion

• High-touch student population

Mental Health • In every category, students experiencing more mental health

conditions compared to national rates

• 60% of students experiencing mental health conditions

• 16.5% reported extracurriculars interfere with their academics (vs 10.6% nationally)

ACHA, 2014

Nutrition # of Fruits and Vegetables per day SCR Female NAT Female

0 servings per day 0.9 4.9

1-2 per day 33.0 56.1

3-4 per day 48.5 32.0

5 or more per day 17.6 7.0

BMI SCR Female NAT Female

< 18.5 Underweight 9.5 5.2

18.5-24.9 Healthy Weight 74.0 63.4

25-29.9 Overweight 12.1 19.4

30-34.9 Class I Obesity 3.0 7.0

35-39.9 Class II Obesity 0.9 2.8

>40 Class III Obesity 0.4 2.1

MEAN 22.47 24.24

ACHA, 2014

Exercise SCR Female NAT Female

0 days 20.4 22.1

1-4 days 60.4 57.6

5-7 days 19.1 20.3

Do moderate-intensity cardio for at least 30 minutes:

Do vigorous-intensity cardio or aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes:

SCR Female NAT Female

0 days 34.9 38.8

1-2 days 34.1 30.0

3-7 days 31.0 31.2

ACHA, 2014

StressSCR Female NAT Female

No stress 0.0 0.6

Less than average stress 4.7 4.4

Average stress 34.3 35.7

More than average stress 45.9 46.9

Tremendous stress 15.0 12.5

ACHA, 2014

Health and Wellness Issues at Scripps• “Smart” drinkers

• Pre-gaming

• Lack of knowledge around sexual health and communication

• Body image and comparison

*Key Stakeholder interviews

Sallie Tiernan Field House

The Tiernan Field House strives to provide high quality services, equipment, and programming in a safe and enjoyable environment. The student centered staff promotes a broad variety of fitness, health, and

wellness educational activities to meet the needs of the diverse population of the Scripps Community.

We are committed to fostering a learning environment and a lifetime appreciation of being fit through a healthy lifestyle.

Organizational Chart Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of

Students

Director of TFH

Assistant Director of TFH

Sallie Tiernan Field House Cardio and functional equipmentYoga studioDance/group fitness studioFunctional fitness roomAlumnae FieldLap/leisure poolBike ShopSand Volleyball Ct.

Sallie Tiernan Field House StaffingTwo FTE7 Building Manager staff5 peer health educators 15 Customer Service Associates 1 Bike shop manager, 2 bike shop techs~20 lifeguards1 marketing/1 admin assistant

Programs and ServicesFitScrippsPersonal TrainingHealth & WellnessIndividual Consultations Bike ShopAquatics Lifeguard & Personal Training Certification courses

Student Leadership Model

TimelineAugust 2008 •Opened in August, fully staffed and with programs

•3 FTE

2009-2014 •Minimal health and wellness programs, mostly student or speaker-led, no dedicated FTE•2-3 FTE (varied)

2014-present •Dedicated FTE to Health and Wellness, regular health/wellness programs•Peer Health Educator Team

Health Education Outreach

Residence Life Staff

Tiernan Field House

Women’s Colleges Across the Country • Mills College• 1 FTE, Peer Health Educators

• Mt Holyoke• 1 GA, FTE, Peer Health Educators

• Mt. St. Mary’s College • Integrating into fitness center

Student Affairs Initiatives • Student Activities Coordinator• AlcoholEdu Management, including implementation and evaluation • Manages A-Team, alcohol alternative activities group

• Residence Life Staff• Regular health-related programs

• Registered Dietician • Shared resource amongst 7C

• MCAPS• Shared Resource

TFH Programs, Spring 2009

Program Development

Year 1Summer 2014

Key Stakeholder interviews Review of dataGoal and objective development Initial programs selected and developed

Fall 2014-May 2015Pilot yearImplementation/Assessment of PHE

Program Year 1

Year 2May 2015-August 2015

Evaluation of Year 1Development of PHE curriculum

August 2015- presentYear 2Implementation/evaluation of PHE

curriculum

Academic Year 2014-2015Establish priority goals and objectivesEstablish relationships with Residence Life, Health Education

Outreach, Student Affairs Departments Select and implement programs for academic yearSelect and implement appropriate evaluation Implement a peer health educator programIncreased social media presence Implement harm reduction programs around alcohol and sex

Year 1Over 40 programs, events and speakers

Partnered with student groups 25% of time

Trained student leaders

Created health and wellness resources

Participated in student affairs initiatives Comprehensive report on AOD initiativesEating Disorder Task Force

Implemented and evaluated PHE program

Student open forum on TFH

Leadership Training• Social norms & informational data • AOD, Body Image, Nutrition/PA, Disordered Eating, Sexual Health, Mental

Health

• Strategies in talking to peers about health and wellness issues

• Where to find valid and reliable health information

• TFH Services

Peer Health Educator Program Year 1• BACCHUS National Training Fall 2014

• Managed outreach based on national health and wellness weeks and student interest

• Tablings, workshops, awareness events, alternative programs, social programs, speakers

• Most popular programs• Breastcasting• Meditation • Pleasure Chest• Inspirational notes

Peer Health Educator Year 160% of PHEs felt the position helped to develop leadership skills

40% agreed that they assisted in reaching the overall goal of creating awareness of health and wellness issues

80% strongly agreed or agreed that they considered diversity and inclusivity in their outreach

Peer Health Educator Year 160% agreed that the experience increased their knowledge of health

outreach

40% agreed or strongly agreed that the experience increased knowledge of other campus, consortium and community resources.

Would have benefited from different training and more structure

Institutional Challenges • Liberal Arts institution• No related field of study

• New VP/Dean of Students

• Loss of FTE

Institutional Challenges

• Small college

• Health Education Outreach- 1.5 FTE

• Viewed as ancillary program, despite student need

Lessons Learned • Created necessary foundations and critical relationships, but did not yield

measureable results

• PHE Training, Curriculum and Structure

• Trying to do everything all at once!

• Challenges around communities’ knowledge and interest in the program • Funding

Strengths• Highly engaged student population

• Supportive environment for program growth

• Positive feedback from student evaluations

Program Year 2• PHE Curriculum

• Consistent leadership training for all student leaders

• Collaboration with other departments on campus• Not reinventing programs and not investing alone

• Less emphasis on “the workshop”

• Student-led programs

Changes to PHE Program • 4-week, topic specific curriculum developed

• PHEs responsible for 1 topic area

• Employee contract• 3 programs/semester (active and passive)• Submit program proposals • Exposed to budget

PHE Curriculum

PHE Curriculum• Education, Needs Assessment, Program Planning, Evaluation

• Special sessions• Students in crisis• Bystander intervention• How to talk to your peers about nutrition• Sex, Gender, and Identities

Peer Health Educator Curriculum• Technical Skills• Knowledge, skills, behavior theory• Health education strategies• Influencing Change• Outlining campus resources • Program planning, goals, objectives• Environmental scanning

Moving Forward

Meeting students where they are• Residence Hall Programs• Living Learning Community

Student Leadership Model • Peer to Peer Management• Peers training and instructing peers

• Grant Funding

Moving Forward• Creativity in programs• Chestcasting• Open Mic nights• Queer Sex Talks

• Environmental Approaches• Creating a campus conversation • Student leaders/organizations• Underrepresented communities

Relevancy to Larger Institutions

• Integrating health and wellness into already existing program efforts, particular those with a social justice focus

• Enhancing the use of undergraduate student workers into a leadership model

• Bringing diversity and inclusion into the forefront

Acknowledgements• Deb Gisvold, Director of Tiernan Field House• Tamsen Burke, Past Director of Tiernan Field House• Christine Morley, Health Educator at SF State