Below is a list of information you will find on this page. Either scroll through the page or click one of the links below.

Using Data for Action

Watch Kathleen Szegda, Director of Community Research and Evaluation, and Mabeline Velez, our former intern and research assistant discuss the importance of data. In this video, Kathleen offers an example of how youth health survey data was used to make changes in Springfield Public Schools. Learn more about actions taken to address youth mental health in our recent report.

The Public Health Institute of Western MA led efforts to conduct the Springfield Youth Health Survey (SYHS) and Springfield Youth Risk Behavior Survey (SYRBS) with 8th, 10th, and 12th graders enrolled in Springfield Public Schools in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, and now 2023.

The SYHS and SYRBS are administered in alternating years with the Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (PNAS), an effort led by the Gandara Center's Stop Access Drug Free Communities Coalition.

We hope that this data will contribute to a dialogue among school staff, community-based organizations, health care providers, and the students themselves about strategies to promote the health and wellbeing of our young people.

Planning Team

The 2023 Youth Health Survey Initiative planning team includes representatives from the following organizations:

The planning team is involved with planning, implementing, and disseminating results from the Springfield youth health surveys.

Email us to get involved!

Our Funders

Thank you for the generous support from our funders!

 

2023 Funders

City of Springfield, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds

                                                                                       

Additional Past Funders

About the Surveys

The Springfield Youth Health Survey (YHS) is administered to 8th grade students enrolled at Springfield Public Schools.  It is a modified version of the survey used by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  The survey contains questions about diet, exercise, screen time, mental health, bullying, violence, health, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs, and more. 

The Springfield Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered to 10th and 12th grade students enrolled at Springfield Public Schools. The instrument used in Springfield is a modified version of the survey created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and used statewide by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The survey content is similar to the YHS, and it contains questions about safety, violence-related behaviors, bullying, self-harm, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs, communication and education about sexuality and sexual health services, and more.

Each year, the SYHSI Planning Team reviews and modifies the questionnaires to reflect local interests and concerns.

For copies of the questionnaires that were used, click here.

Interactive Youth Health Data Portal

We created a user-friendly website, the Interactive Youth Health Data Portal, that allows users to visualize 2015, 2017, and now 2019 Springfield Youth Health Survey data in graphs and explore responses to questions by gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation.  Graphs can even be downloaded as images. 

If you notice any errors or issues with the data portal, please e-mail us.

key data and reports

2021

2019

2017

2015

Related Resources