University Students' Self-Rated Health and Use of Health Services: A Secondary Analysis

BACKGROUND: University students belonging to various ethnic groups have specific health needs that influence their self-rated health and health service use. PURPOSE: To examine which determinants of health serve as key predictors of self-rated health and health service use in a sample of ethnically diverse undergraduate students. METHODS: Data were abstracted from the 2012 Maritime Undergraduate Student Sexual Health Services Survey (N = 10,512). Logistic regression was used to explore the predictors of self-rated health and use of university-based health services according to ethnicity. RESULTS: Social support (Caucasian: odds ratio (OR) = 1.018; 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.008, 1.028]; African: OR = 1.890; 95% CI [1.022, 1.160]; Other: OR = 1.096; 95% CI [1.023, 1.175]), and depression risk (Caucasian: OR = .899; 95% CI [.844, .914]; Indigenous: OR = .904; 95% CI [.844, .969]; Asian: OR = .894; 95% CI [.839, .953]; Multiracial: OR = .892; 95% CI [.812, .980]) were the most frequent predictors of self-rated health across the different ethnic groups; while year of study (Caucasian: OR = 1.855; 95% CI [1.764, 1.952]; African: OR = 2.979; 95% CI [2.068, 4.291]; Indigenous OR = 1.828; 95% CI [1.371, 2.436]; Asian: OR = 1.457; 95% CI [1.818, 1.797]; Middle Eastern: OR = 1.602; 95% CI [1.088, 2.359]; Other: OR = 1.485; 95% CI [1.093, 2.018]; Multiracial: OR = 2.064; 95% CI [1.533, 2.778]) was found to be the most significant predictor of health service use. CONCLUSION: Findings from this research shed light on the various factors that impact university students belonging to different ethnic groups, their health, and their access to healthcare that addresses their distinct health needs. Nurses can advocate for the development of health promotion and illness prevention strategies that target the needs of the diverse student population.