THE IMPACT OF CHRONIC DISEASE ON STUDENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE
Keywords:
CHRONIC DISEASE, STUDENT, QUALITY OF LIFEAbstract
In 2020, there were about 18 million tertiary students in Europe (1). The average of those reporting chronic health conditions was around 18% in Switzerland, with the highest level of 39% in Iceland and the lowest of 7% in Romania, Albania and Serbia (2). The health status of students should be a concern for health professionals, alongside academics, as higher education plays an important role in society, increasing people’s well-being, fostering development and economic growth. However, our knowledge of the impact of chronic illness on university life is limited (3), with minimal research on the differences and similarities of the academic experience of students with chronic illness compared to students without health difficulties (4) but also how universities can support these students (5). As a result, through this exploratory narrative review we aim to synthesize some key ideas about the impact of chronic illness on students’ quality of life and formulate a series of recommendations that can be followed by university support services to encourage quality of life and academic adjustment for this group of students.
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