The New Hampshire Department of Education (NH DOE) seeks $100,000 in Component 1, School-Based Surveillance funding to continue its efforts to survey students, principals, and health education teachers through the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and the School Health Profiles surveys. Data generated by these efforts inform programs, projects, and grants that address risky behaviors in New Hampshire youth, including opioid use, and help determine strategic planning and program effectiveness over time.
These survey results are embedded in the New Hampshire data landscape. The YRBS and School Health Profiles data ensure that the NH DOE and all other stakeholders can assess critical risk behaviors within the high school student population as well as grade 6-12 school health policies and practices of New Hampshire education and public health organizations. Funding for Component 1, School-Based Surveillance, will strengthen systems used in New Hampshire to collect and report YRBS and School Health Profiles data for policy and program improvements in order to enhance youth health outcomes.
The purpose of conducting the YRBS project is to collect, analyze, and report current data regarding these health risk behaviors, to compare trends in New Hampshire with those in other states, and to disseminate that information to inform decisions regarding youth health programs and priorities to enhance adolescent well-being and health. The purpose of conducting the School Health Profile surveys is to collect and report data on school health policies and practices, to use that data to compare local practices with the state data and national data, and to inform local program, practice, and policy decisions intended to improve school environments and offerings for youth health and wellness.
A sample of state programs that rely on YRBS data include: Partnership for Success II, Drug Free Communities, DOE Safe Schools and Healthy Students, New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) electronic cigarette monitoring program, Life of an Athlete New Hampshire, Check the Stats Campaign, Regional Public Health Networks, New Hampshire Driving Towards Zero, New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, New Hampshire Suicide Prevention Council, and the New Hampshire Injury Prevention Program.
YRBS data will be used in federal, state, and local proposals to support local drug-free coalitions, obesity prevention, violence prevention, mental health promotion, and tobacco and illegal-drug use cessation. It will also be used in information dissemination and media campaigns to educate parents and communities about alcohol and drug problems, advocacy, and the many federal, state, and local efforts that relate to preventing or reducing risky youth behaviors.
Both the YRBS and School Health Profiles surveys generate important, useful data, and this project has strong support from the NH DOE, the NH Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS), and many other New Hampshire stakeholders. The project staff has expertise in data collection and management and experience conducting the YRBS and School Health Profiles Surveys administration process.