Capturing the Experiences and Challenges of Emerging Adults in College During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Emerging adulthood (ages 18-30 years) coincides with "aging out" of pediatric care. As a result, combined internal medicine and pediatrics (Med-Peds) providers are tasked with promoting the health and well-being of this population during and post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In ord...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 13; no. 8; p. e17605
Main Authors:	Hotez, Emily, Gragnani, Candace M, Fernandes, Priyanka, Rosenau, Kashia A, Chopra, Apsara, Chung, Ada, Grassian, Julie, Huynh, Sydney, Jackson, Tayloneei, Jimenez, Kevin, Jue, Eric, Le, Nancy, Lenghong, Jennifer, Lopez, Alejandrina, Lopez, Lizzet, Omo-Sowho, Pearl, Pennington, Kennedy, Tirado, Richard, Kuo, Alice
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Palo Alto (CA) Cureus 31-08-2021
Subjects:	Internal Medicine Preventive Medicine Psychology
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Emerging adulthood (ages 18-30 years) coincides with "aging out" of pediatric care. As a result, combined internal medicine and pediatrics (Med-Peds) providers are tasked with promoting the health and well-being of this population during and post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In order to inform the response efforts, we aimed to capture emerging adults' COVID-19 experiences and challenges during a two-week period of the pandemic in June 2020. We administered items from the California Health Interview Survey and an open-ended qualitative item via Qualtrics to 242 diverse emerging adults enrolled in a large US public university (mean age = 20.10, SD = 1.26). More than 90% of all students reported that they or their families or close friends experienced difficulties coping with the stressors and challenges presented by COVID-19. Almost half experienced financial difficulties and more than three-fourths experienced household disruptions during the pandemic. Qualitative findings underscored that these challenges were compounded by mental health and broader social issues. Recommendations for Med-Peds providers are provided to promote emerging adulthood health during and post-pandemic.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2168-8184 2168-8184
DOI:	10.7759/cureus.17605