Student Health and Risk Prevention Surveys
The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) coordinate the administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Youth Tobacco Survey and the Nebraska Risk and Protective Factor Student Survey. The Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) Surveillance System is the umbrella group uniting these three surveys. All three surveys are now administered in the fall of odd calendar years. BOSR manages these surveys on behalf of NDE and NDHHS.
SHARP administration was initially scheduled for the fall of 2020. Due to the uncertainty and stressors of the pandemic, the SHARP State team, which includes the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), Nebraska’s Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), and Tobacco Free Nebraska (TFN), agreed that it would be in everyone’s best interest to delay the project. Despite the obstacles presented by COVID’s ongoing impacts, data collection for youth surveillance was more important than ever. After a historic pandemic, stakeholders (e.g., health departments, behavioral health regions, coalitions, etc.) were even more interested in learning about COVID’s impact on students’ lives. The Nebraska Risk and Protective Factor Student Survey (NRPFSS) included questions asking if parents and/or guardians lost their jobs, if students went hungry and if substance-use increased because of the pandemic.
Notable Findings
Students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades reported:
Schools were harder to get in touch with, but for good reason. Many schools were faced with less staff capacity after the pandemic, requiring some teachers to pick up other classes and responsibilities at schools. This also made it difficult to schedule class time for surveys when the previous school year had already been cut short, and many schools were trying to catch up.
While getting things scheduled and completed was difficult, schools were still supportive and receptive of the SHARP surveys. This data helps schools and communities identify and assess issues that are prevalent in their area.
In Total
UNL Academy for Child and Family Well-Being
BOSR has partnered with UNL’s Academy for Child and Family Well Being (ACFW) in the College of Education and Human Sciences on their current projects aimed to improve the lives of youth with emotional and behavioral challenges through researching, developing, and supporting evidence-based practices. This includes school-based programs and family-support interventions.
The HealthyU project aimed to develop, assess the feasibility, and determine whether the preliminary effects of a supplementary web-based Health Literacy Transition Curriculum affects youth health literacy and transition preparedness in secondary students with high-incidence disabilities. BOSR’s role was to administer consent forms to enroll the students in the curriculum. However, students were very busy in their classes after COVID — especially this population — and there were low consent rates. Once consented, BOSR communicated with teachers to help the students complete the curriculum, earning them school credit or bonus points. In this way, BOSR facilitated and monitored school-based program participation even when getting into schools was difficult.