The impact of the financial crisis on students’ health and wellbeing: A review study in Greece

Dimitra Spyropoulou
PhD Student, Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, University of Patras, Greece

Amalia A. Ifanti, Professor of Educational Planning and Policy, Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, University of Patras, Greece

Financial crisis and austerity measures in Greece impact on students’ health and attitudes. Additionally, during their studies, students may live far from their families and they may go through difficult problems. The university’s role is to promote health and create a sustainable and healthy learning and living environment for their students. This goal will be achieved through the policies for health promotion, which are developed in universities. Factors such as anxiety and lifestyle, economic problems and academic obligations may hinder students from adopting universities’ health promotion policies. However, each student has his/her own personality and social background, which affects the way he/she adopts these policies. Students’ age, gender, socioeconomic status, social capital are some of the factors which may influence them.
The purpose of this review paper is to explore the effects of economic crisis on students’ health and wellbeing. In particular, we aim to explore the available data about the impact the financial crises has on students’ health and wellbeing and to present the Greek universities’ health promotion policies in order to promote their students’ health and wellbeing.
Summing up, it is widely known that Greece is affected more than any other country in Europe by the financial crisis. Job insecurity, income decrease and poverty are among the most common consequences of crisis in the students’ life. The raise of unemployment in Greece is a problem that creates insecurity in students’ life. This situation creates anxiety and unhappiness for students and affects their health and wellbeing. Therefore, it is necessary that universities foster health promotion policies in order to improve their students’ quality of life and wellbeing.