The future of college health.
The field of college health, now in a period of unprecedented change, is at a major turning point in its development. Each of three surrounding environments--higher education, healthcare, and American society at large--are seen to be exerting considerable influence on college health services and programs. The author reviews developments in these three environments to point out some of the adaptations and adjustments that college health programs must make if they are to survive. Drawing on the tradition of college health, he identifies five features that represent strengths of college health programs, strengths that are particularly relevant to the challenges the field now faces. The author concludes by noting that college health programs and services not only can survive into the next century but can actually progress if they exploit these strengths while attending to the imperatives of local circumstances.