UHS Holds Focus Groups

University Health Services (UHS) will stuff students with pizza and give them each two free Sony movie tickets to encourage participation in a focus-group study on the quality of University health care.

A consulting firm will conduct the focus groups, which are designed to determine what students find stressful about college life, how they deal with pressures and how they feel health services respond to their needs, said Director of UHS Dr. David S. Rosenthal '59.

The focus groups, which will take place between Feb. 18 and 20, should be able to provide recommendations to UHS, the college administration and other student support services by the end of the semester, Rosenthal said.

Focus groups were chosen as the best method to learn about student health concerns because they reveal a greater depth of knowledge than do written surveys, Rosenthal said.

"I think that questionnaires only go so deep," he said. "I think the idea of a focus group is that you are able to get beyond the yes/no answer."

Rosenthal said he is not worried about costs--approximately $1,500 in movie tickets alone, plus the fees of the consulting firm. And the pizza.

Rosenthal explained that the money would come from a fund donated by a deceased Harvard alumnus.

Students attending the focus groups should not worry about confidentiality, said Tara L. Adamovitch '97, president of the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), a student-run health advocacy group.

Private issues discussed in the focus groups are meant to remain only with trained moderators who are sensitive to college health issues, she said.

The consulting firm will place participants in groups of eight to 10 students of the same class year who have similar ties to UHS. The cate- gories are set so that the same conclusions are not drawn for all groups of students, Rosenthal said.

UHS officials said they were reluctant to speculate on which issues students might raise in the focus groups, but many students have said they are not entirely pleased with medical services at UHS.

Laurel G. Rayburn '00 said she was given excellent care on one overnight stay, but was disturbed by another visit in which a doctor botched an attempt to take her pulse.

"One doctor said my pulse was 45," Rayburn said in disbelief. "It was more like 65. She was wrong."

Citing a good relationship with her proctor, Rayburn added that she thought emotional needs, at least for first-years, are satisfied by "a plethora" of resources.

Students interested in the focus groups should call 495-9629 or visit the UHS Web page at http://www.uhs.harvard.edu

UHS officials said they were reluctant to speculate on which issues students might raise in the focus groups, but many students have said they are not entirely pleased with medical services at UHS.

Laurel G. Rayburn '00 said she was given excellent care on one overnight stay, but was disturbed by another visit in which a doctor botched an attempt to take her pulse.

"One doctor said my pulse was 45," Rayburn said in disbelief. "It was more like 65. She was wrong."

Citing a good relationship with her proctor, Rayburn added that she thought emotional needs, at least for first-years, are satisfied by "a plethora" of resources.

Students interested in the focus groups should call 495-9629 or visit the UHS Web page at http://www.uhs.harvard.edu