STUDENTS. The Sahlgrenska Academy Students’ Union (SAKS) is looking forward to the results of the Academy’s major survey on the study environment, which will be conducted in November.
“We are hoping for a really high response rate since that would provide the best data on what measures the university needs to take,” says Annika Tängmark, Vice Chair of the union with responsibility for education issues.
The statistics speak for themselves: many students from Sahlgrenska Academy seek help from the student health center, particularly for problems related to stress, depression and anxiety.
“It’s important to enjoy the place you are studying, but almost every day we have students coming to us with various concerns. So far we have lacked an overall picture of the problems, and this survey will provide that for us,” says Annika Tängmark.
For Sahlgrenska Academy Students’ Union, the issue of stress-related health issues for students has long been of concern. A few years ago, the union conducted its own survey to get a better picture of student psychosocial problems, but the response rate was too low for it to help inform the union’s work to improve the faculty’s study environment.
The union is now working to ensure a high response rate for this new survey, which is being conducted by researchers at Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
“We feel that it is most important to actually allocate time in class so that students can complete the survey at scheduled times, and that is the plan. We will also use every opportunity we have to inform students, so that they understand why it is important to respond to the survey,” says Mattias Kåår Johansson, vice chair responsible for student welfare issues and public relations.
The survey will begin in mid-November. All students will receive a link to the survey to their email address listed in GUL, and they have two weeks (November 14-27) to complete it. It will take about 20 minutes to answer all the questions.
“We hope that the survey will reveal the problem areas, so that the university can work on them,” says Mattias Kåår Johansson, who is currently taking a break from his studies in biomedical laboratory science. “Will I complete the survey? Of course.”
