The SHoT Study

Summary

The SHoT Study (an acronym for the Norwegian name: Studentenes Helse- og Trivselsundersøkelse) is a national student survey for higher education in Norway. So far, three health surveys of the student population in Norway have been completed (2010, 2014 and 2018). Both the size and scope of the SHoT studies have expanded over time, and now includes detailed information on mental and physical health, quality of life, health-related behaviours, demographics and more specific study-related information. The background for the first survey was that there existed limited data on these topics in the student population. Although some data had been collected locally at campuses from small surveys before 2010, no systematic surveys had been conducted yielding more comprehensive knowledge. The three largest student welfare associations in Norway (SiO, Sammen and Sit) are the owners and initiators of the SHoT studies. They assembled to set up a national survey with the ambition to build a representative knowledge base on student health. SHoT is conducted at 4 years' intervals, and the next surveys will be in 2022, 2026 etc.