Real students, real problems

I begin my blog post with an anecdote concerning a sex-related problem a friend of mine dealt with last week (published with permission!). I am not telling this story for the sake of being deliberately crass or ‘out-there’, but rather because I believe her situation helps me reveal how USC students are interacting with the health center with regards to sexual health, the primary focus of my research. In fact, I would be lucky to find similar stories each week, to report and explore in real time how USC students deal with their sexual reproductive health concerns.

So, to begin, I will preface this story with some background information: my friend’s long-distance boyfriend was visiting last week, and thus reunion celebrations were in order. Upon his departure, however, some spotting and other happenings brought fears of pregnancy. Yes, the dreaded ‘P’ word — the simultaneous action of making and breaking a life (let’s not pretend pregnancy wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen mid-college). And fears of pregnancy brought with them symptoms of pregnancy just as symptoms of pregnancy brought more fears of pregnancy. Add ‘pregnancy’ as one WebMD’s specialty diagnoses. Before continuing I will confirm that no, my friend was not pregnant, we are not expecting a new flat mate. But in order to come to this conclusion we needed the help of the one and only Engemann student health center. Up until this point my friend had not purchased a pregnancy test because they’re fairly expensive; interestingly my preliminary research into the services offered at Engemann revealed that they offer free pregnancy testing. We know for next time. As a last resort at 11pm in the evening I suggested that we call the 24-hour nurse line, maybe they would have some insight. After explaining the situation to the nurse, she low-key laughed. It was a good sign. You know the end, all is well. A lack of child is not the point I wish to explore.

Instead I would rather look at how the sexual reproductive health concerns of my friend were and were not addressed by the student health center. I still have not a complete understanding of all the resources offered by Engemann, so my analysis will be a preliminary one. I would first like to point out that it took several days of worrying before the student health center was contacted, when they could have been contacted straight away. Doing so would have saved several days of worry. Thus I wonder why reaching out to the student health center is not a first response? And what would need to be done to promote this kind of behavior within the student population?

I also wonder how many people know of the basic health services offered by Engemann. Neither my friend nor I knew that free pregnancy testing was an option, and we both assumed the best option would be a fairly pricey test from the on-campus pharmacy. Additionally, I’m not sure if my friend would have known she could call a 24-hour nurse if I hadn’t suggested it (something I only know after being fairly sick outside of Engemann open hours). We are both health science students and are both international, meaning we rely on the student health center for all our medical needs while at school. I would have hoped we were better informed. After going through this short-lived scare, I really began to think about how important just a knowledge of the health services available are, at least for peace of mind. I am now more interested to see what my findings on the state of student knowledge and utilization of on-campus sexual health resources reveals. I believe this issue to be one of high importance and hope to gain a better understanding of how behaviors can change to promote a more conscious and healthy campus. Going forward from this week, I know that I should explore if and when students think of the health center for help, and how that response can be strengthened.