Assessment of Health Perception Essay

In the Assessment of Health Perception, Spirituality and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Within a Private College Cohort, Sandra Ramey delved deep into the heart of cardiovascular disease perception, status, and risk factors among college students. It discussed in detail the causes of cardiovascular disease in a college environment. Ramey also discussed in this article the possible solutions to the health problems. Throughout the article, Ramey used existing evidences, such as statistics and examples, in analyzing the situations faced by college students. It is written in a way that is easy to understand for college students to be aware of the growing problem involving them and the academe and some possible solutions to their problem. Furthermore, the article can also be a springboard for further research on college student health not only on CVD but other health risks as well. Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors The increased prevalence of several cardiovascular disease risk factors, specifically overweight and obesity, hypercholesterolemia and stress, among college students has gotten the attention of health practitioners across the country. These risk factors are attributed to many root factors that begin during childhood. The article discussed how these conditions worsen during college. It tries to identify how stress and emotional health affect a student’s health condition, specifically eating patterns and behavior. Ramey suggested that knowing these factors better can help diminish the development of chronic disease. Emotional Well-being and Spirituality Among the detriments to emotional well-being and impediments to academic success identified by college students, as shown in the NAPNAP’s Keep your children/yourself Safe and Secure (KySS) campaign, are the following: 1. stress; 2. sleep difficulties; 3. concern for family and friends; and, 4. relationship difficulties. The KySS survey also showed that the top worry for both teens and parents was â€Å"how to cope with stressful things in their life† (Ramey, 2005). Knowing this, Ramey continued to discuss current efforts to curb the growing risk. One of the important findings that were discussed was the effects of spirituality in perceiving emotional well-being (Ramey 2005). A study on 2003 by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California was cited to have examined the spiritual life of college students and was showing positive results, including declining levels of emotional health problems in students. This means that spirituality can be used to help prevent further complications such as CVD. Conclusion Ramey provided a content-rich article that was well-researched and provided with statistical data and research findings. It is a good read for college students to be aware of CVD and the risk factors causing it. The article is also a good source of information for health practitioners for further research about the growing health risk among college students. References Ramey, S. L. (2005). Assessment of health perception, spirituality and prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors within a private college cohort. Pediatric Nursing, May-June 2005