DASH Partner Update – October 2019
Dear Partners,
School-based surveillance is essential to DASH’s work to improve adolescent health. DASH maintains two school-based surveillance systems: The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), and School Health Profiles (Profiles). These systems enable a better understanding of adolescent health and the impact of school health programs for healthier youth and safer schools.
Over the next several months, you will see a lot of surveillance-related activity from DASH. We have almost completed the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data collection and anticipate releasing the data next summer; 2018 Profiles data will be available in November, and 2020 Profiles data collection will start in January.
For more than 30 years DASH surveillance systems have helped us monitor trends in health behaviors, develop programmatic interventions, and evaluate school health policies and practices. We rely on local YRBS and Profiles coordinators to facilitate successful survey administration. State and local partners help strengthen our surveillance systems and ensure impactful data dissemination. If you have local members and affiliates, encourage them to reach out to their YRBS Coordinator and determine how they can use local data and lend support to national, state, and local data collection and dissemination efforts.
Best,
Kathleen
Kathleen A. Ethier, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
What’s New with DASH?
Updated Webpage Highlighting Program Success Stories
This new webpage highlights how DASH funded local education agencies are implementing quality sexual health education, increasing connections to youth-friendly sexual health services, and improving safe and supportive environments.
Fall YRBS Administration
Between now and December, 12 DASH funded sites will be conducting YRBS. Sites include California, Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, Newark (NJ), New Mexico, Albuquerque (NM), New York City (NY), Cleveland (OH), Portland (OR), South Dakota, and Virginia.
Upcoming Release of 2018 School Health Profiles Data
DASH will release the 2018 Profiles dataset on November 15th. Results will be available in a full report, and a PowerPoint which illustrates the results on U.S. maps.
Tribal Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Webinar
November 19th 1-2pm EST
During National Native American Heritage Month, DASH will host a webinar to highlight the work of three tribes that conducted a YRBS in 2017. Representatives from the Navajo Nation, Cherokee Nation, and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska will describe how they were able to successfully engage schools and communities to conduct a YRBS, and provide examples of how survey findings have been disseminated and used to promote the health of native youth. Register hereexternal icon.
Prescription Opioid Misuse Associated with Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students, National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2017external iconThis CDC study analyzed YRBS data to study lifetime prescription opioid misuse and its association with health risk behaviors. Findings show that prescription opioid misuse was associated with other substance use, violence victimization, sexual risk taking, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and poor academic performance.
November 2-6: Several DASH staff will present at the 2019 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Presentations include:
- Dr. Riley Steiner, Dr. Nicole Liddon, and Sanjana Pampati will be participating on a panel titled, “Working together to promote quality adolescent sexual and reproductive health services: The roles of parents, providers, and adolescents.”
- Dr. Zewde Demissie will give presentations on “Driving under the influence of marijuana: Prevalence among high school students, associations with risk behaviors, and a comparison to alcohol-impaired driving”; and “Changing racial-ethnic disparities in adolescent sexual risk behaviors — national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007‒2017.”
- Dr. Nick Deputy will present “Nonmedical use of prescription opioids and current heroin use among adolescents – Virginia, 2017.”
- Carmen Ashley will moderate a panel on public health workforce development.
November 12: Dr. Kathleen Ethier will present on DASH’s program work and impact at the Sexuality Education Policy Action Council hosted by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
Updates from Partners
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American School Counselor Association, National Association of School Psychologists, and The Trevor Project collaborated to create the Model School District Policy on Suicide Preventionpdf iconexternal icon, a guidebook containing best practices in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policies for K-12 schools.
From 2015 to 2017, New York City (NYC) Public Schools increased condom use among students by 13% in 21 select high schools. This increase is in contrast to the decline in condom use among high school students in the majority of NYC public schools and nationally.
- October is National Bullying Prevention Month and National Substance Abuse Prevention Month
- November 15: National Parent Involvement Day
- November 18-22: American Education Week
- December 1: World AIDS Day