As more complex health problems arise among the student population, college health services are trying to keep up with demands for new services. As the institutions with the fewest resources, community colleges are often unable to support any kind of clinical structure. The few existing facilities are rarely comprehensive and are unlikely to maintain full-time staffs. In addition to having the fewest resources, community colleges also have the largest populations of low-income and minority students who are generally more at risk for health problems due to their economic and social circumstances. Although there are no national statistics that give a complete overview of the health services available on community college campuses, a picture can be constructed by looking at data from several different studies.
Some colleges use campus health services as the training ground for their nursing students.
Other colleges are beginning to look further into the community for assistance. This awareness has led to a greater focus on prevention efforts as a means for insuring good health. Prevention efforts are generally much less expensive than providing treatment and are easier to scale up or down according to budget fluctuations. Colleges have come up with a variety of methods for integrating prevention into the curriculum and campus activities. Curricular infusion of health promotion topics has been pursued quite extensively by community colleges.