HFD Health Survey

We know that students are often affected by health-related stresses and strains such as stress, psychological problems and physical ailments. Currently, we know too little about how students at Fulda University of Applied Sciences are doing. With the HFD Health Survey, we want to record the health of students at Fulda University of Applied Sciences and investigate whether and how the health of students changes over the course of their studies. We are also interested in whether there are connections between the health of students and their academic success.

Our study is a so-called longitudinal study, i.e. we invite all students to participate in a survey every year (initially for the next three years). Only then will it be possible for us to examine the course of students' health.

The overarching goal is to keep an eye on students' health and, in cooperation with the departments, to create offers that meet students' needs. A healthier study programme at Fulda University of Applied Sciences is our vision.

• So far, there have mainly been cross-sectional studies, i.e. studies in which students are surveyed once. We are conducting a longitudinal study in which we repeatedly ask you to participate in our surveys. There are hardly any surveys like this so far - but they allow us to get a more comprehensive picture of the health situation of students at Fulda University of Applied Sciences.
• In our study, we want to investigate whether and what connections exist between the health situation of students and their academic success . This is not just a scientific question, but of very practical relevance. If health and academic success are connected, we must do more to maintain and promote the health of students.
• The HFD Health Survey is not just a scientific study, but the starting point for planning and implementing health promotion offers for students at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. Here we work together with all institutions and stakeholders at the university.

A total of three surveys will take place. The first will start in the winter semester 2022/2023, the next two will follow in the following years (winter semester 2023/2024 and winter semester 2024/2025). In order to obtain the most meaningful results possible, we would be pleased if you would take part in all surveys.

Overall, we ask you various questions in the areas of health and academic success. In addition to information about yourself (e.g. age, origin), we will ask you about various areas of health and well-being (e.g. chronic illnesses, psychological stress), health-related behaviour (e.g. exercise, nutrition and sleep) and your resources . We also ask you about your assessment of your current study situation. Among other things, we ask you questions about your satisfaction with your studies and your commitment to your studies.

In order to create changes at the university and in your department to enable healthier studies, we first need information about the health of students. By taking part in the health survey, you can help us to develop tailor-made offers to maintain and promote health. The results will be evaluated specifically for the individual departments so that the offers can be made exactly where they are needed.

In addition, through your participation you contribute to the generation of scientific knowledge from which other universities and other students can benefit. Although our health survey refers specifically to Fulda University of Applied Sciences, we hope to gain valuable insights that will also benefit other universities and thus all students.

Finally, we are giving away small gifts for participating in the HFD Health Survey. Let us surprise you - you'll find out more here soon.

Of course, we want you to have access to the results of the Health Survey at any time. Therefore, we will make them available in the form of topic-specific fact sheets here on the site under Results. This will be done after each survey (i.e. every year) and not just after the three years. This way you can always see directly how the health of students at Fulda University of Applied Sciences is doing and which topics are of particular importance. We also regularly inform you about new results via the university's social media channels.

The health survey is pseudonymous, which means that we do not know your name or who you are. You will create your own pseudonym (i.e. an individual code that will be explained in the questionnaire), with which we can link your answers from the individual surveys without knowing which person is behind this code. Of course, your answers will be secured and will not be accessible to anyone outside the project team. You can find more information about data protection here.