Beyond the Distance: An In-depth Analysis Understanding Commuting Time and its Influence of Student Wellness

Abstract

Specific Aims: To assess whether average daily commute time to campus is associated with students’ perception of their physical and mental wellness. Methods: A survey was sent out to all students at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy who will graduate in 2026, 2027, and 2028. The survey asked questions regarding home campus, wellness, and drive time. This study used an ANOVA single factor test to look at average wellness scores for each drive time and a T-test compared scores between campuses. Results: 89 students completed the questionnaire, 55.1% on the Phoenix campus and 42.6% to Tucson, 2 students did not state their campus. There were 10 questions regarding wellness. Each question could give a maximum of 4 points based on response, so the overall wellness score was out of 40 points. The average wellness scores were as follows: for <15 minutes the average score was 23.5, 15-29 minutes was 23.9, 30-44 minutes was 23.7, >45 minutes was 25.6, and we had a variable drive time section due to 7 students responding different drive times depending on their commute and that average score was 22.4 (P= 0.53). The average score for Tucson students was 23.3 and for Phoenix students was 24.4, but there were 2 students who did not state their campus, and their average was 26.5 (P=0.2). Conclusions: This study showed that there is no significant impact of drive time on student wellness.