Welcome to the August 2023 edition of Campus Safety’s Friday Facts!
Five Facts, which runs the last Friday of every month, reviews what Campus Safety has recently covered as well as the quirky, interesting, random information or factoids I come across on practically a daily basis when I’m searching for news.
This month’s edition covers vaping’s impact on the health of teens, America’s shrinking gender pay gap, mental health treatment trends for college students, and more.
Fact No. 1: Emergency department doctors need more resources to address the youth mental health crisis in America.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Emergency Nurses Association have issued a joint policy statement calling for more support to help U.S. emergency departments (EDs) deal with the influx of children and young adults they see who are experiencing mental health crises.
The statement cites studies that found there has been an increase in emergency department visits by children and youth with mental and behavioral health emergencies, as well as the increased prevalence of depression and suicide in children, adolescents, and young adults. It also mentions the increased suicide rates in Black school-aged children, which is about two times higher compared to White children.
Fact No. 2: Teens develop breathing problems less than a month after they start vaping.
New research has found that teenagers often develop wheezing, bronchitis, and shortness of breath only 30 days after they start using e-cigarettes.
According to the study from the Ohio State University, teens who vaped within the past 30 days were 81% more likely to develop wheezing and 78% more likely to experience shortness of breath than those who never smoked. The study participants who used e-cigarettes were also twice as likely to develop symptoms of bronchitis.
Another health risk associated with e-cigarette use is the increased likelihood of developing asthma.
Fact No. 3: The cost of healthcare data breaches has increased 53% since 2020.
The average cost of a healthcare data breach reached nearly $11 million in 2023 — up 53% from 2020, according to IBM Security’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report.
The research, conducted by Ponemon Institute and analyzed by IBM, is based on an analysis of data breaches experienced by 553 organizations globally between March 2022 and March 2023. Overall, the report shows the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.45 million in 2023 — an all-time high for the annual report and a 15% increase over the last three years. Detection and escalation costs also increased by 42%, representing the highest portion of breach cost and indicating a “shift toward more complex breach investigations.”
Fact No. 4: While 42% of college students needed help for emotional or mental health problems in the past year, more than 60% of those needed support never received counseling or therapy.
Our young people are experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis, and students are now identifying it as a leading concern on campus. Higher education institutions are in a prime position to support these students by helping them learn how to build resilience and self-care and support skills.
A recent survey of 91,662 students across 85 colleges and universities found that students urgently need mental health support: 42% of all responding students reported they needed help for emotional or mental health problems in the last 12 months, and nearly a quarter (24%) indicated a current need for assistance. But despite this proven need for mental health resources, over 60% of students noted they’ve never received counseling or therapy.
Fact No. 5: The gender pay gap in the U.S. is at an all-time low.
Women now make 84 cents for every $1 men earn for similar work, with a median weekly paycheck of $1,001 for female workers compared to $1,185 for men. Ten years ago, women earned 78% of men’s earnings. In 1979, women made 62% of what men earned in similar jobs.
