Health and Well-Being of International University Students, and Comparison with Domestic Students, in Tasmania, Australia

Abstract

International students comprise an increasingly larger proportion of higher education students globally. Empirical evidence about the health and well-being of these students is, however, limited. We sought to examine the health and well-being of international students, primarily from Asian countries, attending the University of Tasmania, Australia, using domestic students as a comparison group. Ethics approval was given to invite (via email) all currently enrolled students to participate in the study by completing a pilot-tested, online survey. The survey was completed by 382 international students (response rate = 8.9%) and 1013 domestic students (9.2%). Independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests were used for bivariate comparisons between international and domestic students, and between subgroups of international students. Regression models were used to examine the associations between student status (international vs. domestic) and health outcomes, controlling for demographic and enrolment variables. International students, particularly male students, were found to be at increased risk of several adverse health outcomes while also being less likely to seek help for mental health and related problems. The findings indicate the need for accessible, targeted, culturally-sensitive health promotion and early intervention programs.

Lifestyle Practices, Satisfaction with Life and the Level of Perceived Stress of Polish and Foreign Medical Students Studying in Poland

“…What is more, studies performed by other authors confirmed that the financial situation for participants is linked with the analyzed lifestyles related to health. Additionally, according to these studies also other sociodemographic variables correlated with students' health related practices, e.g., gender, age and marital status [16,20,28,42].…”

“…Here, foreign female students showed a higher level of life satisfaction than men. Skromanis et al [28] in their study conducted in Australia among foreign and Australian students, indicated that foreign male students had lower levels of life satisfaction. Interestingly, the research conducted in 2015 among young people in Hungary, Poland and Ukraine showed, that respondents from these three countries were satisfied with their life; however, the Polish students obtained the poorest results [44].…”

“…The research on the changes affecting foreign students can contribute to the design of health promotion programs targeted specifically for educational migrants. There are numerous studies addressing the issues of lifestyle and health behaviors among foreign students representing different cultures and countries of origin [15,[27][28][29]. The research previously conducted in Poland, focused mainly on the lifestyle and health behaviors of students from Vietnam, Taiwan and Norway [30][31][32].…”

Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety among International Students in the Health Professions at Southern Medical University, P. R. China

“…Another study carried out on a sample of international students in northern Japan indicated that 41% of the participants had depressive symptoms (Eskanadrieh et al, 2012). Several authors have demonstrated that unlike domestic students, international students are faced with several challenges that hinder their adjustment and affect their mental health (Ogunsanya, Bamgbade, Thach, Sudhapalli, & Rascati, 2018;Skromanis et al, 2018;Yeh & Inose, 2003). A study carried out in Japan indicated that the prevalence of depressive symptoms among international students was 37.1%, which was higher than that of domes-Open Journal of Social Sciences tic students at 29% (Nguyen, Le, & Meirmanov, 2019).…”

University Student Health and Wellbeing Study: A test‐retest reliability study of a web‐based survey investigating undergraduate student health and wellbeing

“…1 By assessing multiple health and wellbeing topics, as opposed to single topic or population-based surveys, universities can be provided accurate data to prioritise needs. With limited comprehensive health surveys completed within Australian universities, [7][8][9] there is a need for a reliability tested and specific Australian survey tool that recognises the local context. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable, web-based tool, to measure the health of undergraduate students in Australia.…”