A Survey of Health Promotion Programs in U.S. and Canadian Medical Schools

Abstract
The results of the survey indicate that 55 of 142 schools currently offer a health promotion/well-being program for their students. A total of 11 programs have been added since a similar survey was conducted in 1988. A diversity of program components that could be individualized to the needs of each student were offered, as can be seen in Table 1. Eight different components were offered in more than 50% of the schools, with support groups and substance abuse services being offered in 74.5% of the schools. It is noteworthy that health promotion/well-being programs are only offered at about 20% of medical schools for interns/residents and faculty/staff, although it is possible that they might participate in other programs. It should be pointed out that in more than 95% of the schools, physical/medical and psychologic services were offered; however, specific programs designed to prevent substance and alcohol abuse were only offered in about 54% of the programs.