New Mexico Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles (SHP) Project - This proposal, by the Epidemiology and Response Division (ERD), New Mexico Department of Health (DOH), is in response to the funding opportunity, Improving Adolescent Health and Well-Being Through School-Based Surveillance and the What Works in Schools Program (CDC-RFA-DP-24-0139). The NM DOH is requesting $125,000 for the first year implementation of both the YRBS and Profiles projects, while building on the profitable partnerships that have made these projects so successful in New Mexico. The New Mexico (NM) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Profiles Project will establish and maintain systematic surveillance procedures to monitor critical health-related behaviors among high school and middle school students in NM public schools, and the school health policies of NM public high schools and middle schools. New Mexico has a successful history of implementing both the YRBS and the School Profiles. The NM YRBS, managed by a partnership between the NM DOH and the NM Public Education Department (PED), has attained weighted data for every survey cycle since 2005. The NM School Health Profiles Surveys, first under contract by the NM PED and then by the NM DOH, has been implemented by the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center (PRC) in since 2016. The New Mexico YRBS project relies on the involvement of a steering committee that includes membership from numerous state agencies including the NM DOH, PED, Human Services Department (HSD), Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD), the University of New Mexico (UNM), and the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC). In addition to providing expertise in all aspects of the NM YRBS, from questionnaire design to data analysis and dissemination, the varied makeup of this steering committee has made the NM YRBS more representative of the diverse NM population. These partnerships have allowed the NM YRBS and Profiles Project to build on support from the CDC to expand our YRBS sample size to allow production of school district level estimates for every participating school district of sufficient size. This expanded sample size has allowed more precise estimates of sub-state geographical areas, as well as improved estimates of small population groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, and gender non-conforming people. The NM DOH, in collaboration with the YRBS Steering Committee, will develop and implement a work plan that will be negotiated with and approved by CDC/DASH. The plan will address survey implementation, including the survey schedule, questionnaire, sampling and data collection procedures to obtain weighted data. Embedded in the plan will be an evaluation and performance measurement plan that encourages schools to participate in the NM YRBS and School Profiles Project, and promotes the importance of obtaining state and school district level weighted data. Survey data will be disseminated through multiple modes to school districts, public health offices, state agencies, tribal governments and other key stakeholders to improve school health programs and policies that impact the student health and academic achievement and to identify health disparities and inequities among school-age youth. Regional trainings will be conducted to build capacity at the local level to successfully apply the data.
