Policies and Strategies for Enhancing University Student Health Behaviours: A Scoping Review of Australian University...

Health risk behaviours including unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour, inadequate sleep, tobacco use and alcohol and illicit drug use are prevalent among university students. Universities are pivotal settings for health promotion; however, existing policy/strategy addressing health risk behaviours is uncertain. This scoping review aimed to identify and synthesise current policies/strategies targeting student health behaviours across Australian universities.

A systematic search of websites and policy libraries of 39 Australian universities was conducted in January 2025. Policies/strategies were included if they were current, included students within their target group, and addressed at least one health risk behaviour. Data was extracted about policy characteristics and intervention functions and policy categories evaluated using the Behaviour Change Wheel.

Fifty-four policies/strategies from 30 universities met the inclusion criteria. Many universities had a policy/strategy focused on smoking (74.4%), alcohol (64.1%) and drug use (43.6%), whereas few addressed physical inactivity (7.7%) or unhealthy diet (2.6%). No university policy/strategy addressed sedentary behaviour or sleep. The most common intervention function and policy category was environmental restructuring and environmental/social planning.

This review highlights a fragmented policy landscape, with significant gaps in addressing health risk behaviours within policy or strategy at Australian universities. These findings provide guidance for future institutional policy/strategy development and to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in embedding student wellbeing within institutional frameworks. SO WHAT?: These findings emphasise the need for national-level guidance to embed systemic approaches to health promotion within the university setting. This is essential to improve student wellbeing, foster academic excellence, address health inequity and advance community health outcomes.