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Modern technology has changed the way we all live our lives for the better. Today, we are all capable of doing things that simply were not possible before. And tech hasn’t just helped us at work, it has also helped us have better, happier, healthier lives.
Today, universities all over the country can use tech to create and promote better health among their students. This is a great way for them to care for their pupils and ensure they are learning more than just math, science, and literature while in college.
Mobile Health
Creating and supporting health-focused smartphone apps is a simple and super effective method for colleges to get students involved with taking care of their health.
These apps are able to provide customized, tailor-made, efficient advice when it comes to all things related to health. These apps are able to track things like nutrition and calorie counts, while also conducting mental health assessments and sending exercise reminders.
These apps also provide articles to read, videos to watch, and quizzes to take on different health care subjects, which allows education to be easily accessible and engaging.
Telehealth
Numerous students encounter obstacles when trying to access healthcare in person, whether it be because of stigma, a lack of time, or something else like limited availability.
By providing telehealth services and virtual counseling on secure platforms, colleges can help their students to get the most out of private health care, mental health assistance, and consultations from healthcare experts without needing to leave campus or their dorms. This increases availability and encourages healthy treatment.
These days, telehealth services can do so much, including leading to the prescription of medicine such as PrEP, which can be done via Freddie’s guide. Through the information gained from telehealth, students are able to make smarter healthcare decisions.
Online Classes & Seminars
Additionally, conducting some online workshops or webinars about important health subjects like stress management, sexual health, nutrition, or exercise can give great education and insight to students.
These classes could be filmed and saved in a digital form, which enables students to retrieve this important information whenever they need it, ensuring that they will really retain all of the vital messages delivered.
Plus, having guest experts or impactful influencers in these sessions can also increase student interest and engagement. These days, there are many ways to draw students into learning more and taking better care of themselves, especially if they are entertained while informed.
Social Media
We all know that social media is more popular than ever before and colleges should use that to their advantage when they are trying to educate and help their student body.
Because of the modern internet landscape, universities have the opportunity to start health education programs and campaigns on the social media platforms that students all use.
These campaigns will aim to raise overall awareness about mental health, physical fitness challenges, and responsible behavior related to substance use, which is especially important for college students who often face peer pressure to partake in substances and then get their lives off track.
Again, working with well-known student influencers and ambassadors will help expand the reach of these campaigns and their credibility too, which makes messages related to health more and more relatable and intriguing for the student population.
AI Chatbots
A rather new internet invention is AI chatbots, which are mostly used for businesses on their websites when potential customers are inquiring about goods and services. But chatbots don’t have to only be used when a business is trying to make a sale. Instead, colleges can use them as well when they are attempting to raise awareness about health issues with students.
After major advances in technology, artificial intelligence chatbots now have the ability to be used to promptly address students’ simple health questions.
These revolutionary chatbots are able to give all kinds of assistance with topics such as diet, sleep, stress, and small health issues.
Wearable Devices
We have all seen Apple Watches, Fitbits, and other wearable devices that can help people keep track of their calories, steps taken, and all kinds of exercise.
Any university that is attempting to help its students’ health should consider using these devices to their advantage, by promoting their use and even creating contests and campaigns to further excite students.
Gamify Health Education
The “gamification” of health care can also help universities develop their students’ health care.
This just means that colleges should work hard to make learning about these things fun and engaging. They should try to approach it like a game and find ways to make students interact, gain points, share their accomplishments, and actually enjoy taking care of themselves.
Virtual Reality
Another way that universities can help students and their health needs is to immerse them in a VR experience. Virtual reality can stimulate real-life situations, giving students insight into what they are supposed to do, how they need to respond to certain scenarios, and how to communicate with doctors.
Conclusion
Students really do want to take care of their health but there are times when they aren’t sure how. This is why universities should work hard to use technology to benefit their students and put them on the right health path they will follow for life.
