With spring break on the horizon, Chief Campus Well being Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman warned that the upcoming break typically results in an uptick in pupil sicknesses in a briefing with the Day by day Trojan and Annenberg Media on Wednesday morning. 

Oftentimes, college students come again to campus with sicknesses that they’ve picked up throughout their travels. Van Orman stated there are three large classes of sicknesses that college students often contract over spring break: respiratory sicknesses, gastrointestinal sicknesses and sexually transmitted illnesses.

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Van Orman stated college students ought to wash their arms, take COVID-19 testing kits on their travels, and take precautions round what meals and drinks one consumes to keep away from traveler’s diarrhea. 

By way of STIs, Van Orman stated college students who’re contemplating partaking in and searching for out sexual actions with not-well-known companions ought to take into account taking pre-exposure prophylaxis — often known as PrEP — which prevents takers from contracting HIV. 

  “If individuals are utilizing alcohol or different intoxicants, these do have an effect on decision-making within the second and the way you may be conscious or not privy to defending your self in opposition to danger,” Van Orman stated. “Should you had a brand new companion over break, [you should] get totally examined and screened. We do see fairly a couple of individuals coming again with sexually transmitted infections [after spring break].”

Whereas flu case numbers are declining following a spike in January, Van Orman warned of a special influenza pressure — which will be contracted instantly after the primary — that may trigger one other spike.

“We haven’t seen a lot [influenza strain] B but,” Orman stated. “B tends to come back later and B typically has its personal peak, so it’s attainable we might get one other influenza B peak later within the semester. B and A are type of separate when it comes to how they flow into. Backside line: Get your flu shot.”

Prior to now two months, influenza instances have accounted for over 80% of all viruses that college students examined optimistic for at Scholar Well being. COVID-19 has taken a little bit of a backseat, with the variety of optimistic confirmed instances amongst college students having dropped considerably in comparison with the previous tutorial 12 months.  

Van Orman stated the influenza peak for USC got here later in respect to the whole lot of Los Angeles County, which she attributes to college students having been away on winter break. 

Moreover, the Scholar Effectively-being Index Survey opened up Tuesday for college kids to fill out. The survey is being administered by the Scholar Well being Workplace for Well being Promotion Technique and is a collaboration between Scholar Well being and Scholar Life. 

The survey will accumulate knowledge on a number of key efficiency indicators: sense of belonging, equity and fairness; flourishing; at-risk consuming; sexual violence and upstanding behaviors. It would additionally decide how the College can enhance the scholar expertise and tradition.  

All survey responses are nameless and Scholar Well being works with a biostatistician to make sure that when knowledge is disaggregated — damaged down amongst particular pupil populations, like undergraduate versus graduate college students, for instance — a pupil’s response can’t be traced again to them. 

“It’s very straightforward to do a whole lot of actions within the wellness house and the well-being house and the well being house with out essentially understanding, ‘Is any of it making a distinction?’” Van Orman stated. “The SWIS survey is to attempt to assist us know [if we] are transferring in the correct course and likewise to establish the place there could also be disparities.”