The debut of a new national database tracking who visits college health centers and why -- the first of its kind -- generated considerable interest here Thursday at the annual convention of the American College Health Association. But it remains to be seen whether that interest will be enough for the College Health Surveillance Network, which just after completion of its pilot stage includes only 19 colleges, to reach its full potential to improve medical services -- potential the project's creators believe is significant.
"College students represent a pretty critical subpopulation of Americans," said James C. Turner, a professor of internal medicine and executive director of the department of student health at the University of Virginia, which sponsors the project jointly with the Centers for Disease Control. ...