How College Students Communicatively Manage Uncertainty about University Health Services

Bibliographic Data

ID21616643
AuthorsLynsey Romo (0000-0002-7233-8540, North Carolina State University, corresponding author), Geoffrey Luurs (0009-0009-6318-5499, Murray State University)
Year2021
Volume36
Issue8
Pages1009-1017
Publication date2021-07-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1041-0236 • E-ISSN: 1532-7027
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10410236.2020.1731780
PMID32098524
OpenAlexW3008856496
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited25

Despite university health services' critical role in addressing students' health, students frequently underutilize on-campus healthcare, in part due to uncertainty. This study used Uncertainty Management Theory and 41 interviews with college students and health center staff and providers to uncover the types of health services uncertainty students experienced and how students used communication to manage uncertainty. Students experienced institutional uncertainty pertaining to services, logistics, and quality-of-care. Participants who viewed this uncertainty negatively sought to reduce it via passive- and experiential-information seeking. Students who appraised uncertainty neutrally or positively maintained it by ignoring or avoiding information. Other students increased uncertainty by seeking second opinions. Findings suggest that promoting health services year-round and incentivizing patient referrals may help students manage both uncertainty and their health

Experiential learning · Health care · Medical education · Pedagogy · Applied Psychology · Communication in Education and Healthcare · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare · Psychology

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