As young Utahns struggle with their mental health, lack of sleep and excessive screen time, health officials are preparing to launch a crucial survey aimed at understanding and addressing the challenges and opportunities local youth face.School districts throughout the community are partnering with the Summit County Health Department and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to prepare for the biennial Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey set to launch in early 2025.Pamella Bello, the director of behavioral health prevention at the Health Department, expects the SHARP survey to be conducted in sixth-, eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade classrooms between March and May of next year. “The purpose is to gather data, local data, to have. This survey is one of the only ones that gathers this amount of data on risk and preventive factors,” she told the Board of Health on Wednesday.Each school district in the county has opted into the survey. However, parents must consent for their children to be able to take it. There has historically been low participation in Park City, North Summit and South Summit — not because of a lack of interest, but because of a lack of awareness.The Health Department needs 60% of students to take the survey for it to be considered valid. If fewer take it, then officials can’t rely solely on the data, which is used to illuminate trends, influence policy decisions, support new programs and aid funding endeavors. That’s been the case for several years.This year, for the first time ever, the Park City School District included information about the SHARP survey in its school registration, and 82.4% of parents agreed to let their children take it. Bello expected that to make a significant difference in participation, but she wants to see additional improvements in the other districts to help them increase their numbers. Bello was still waiting on a percentage from the South Summit School District, and said she heard from the North Summit School District they have “really bad numbers.” Parents can still complete the consent form during the weeks leading up to the survey.The comprehensive survey sources information related to substance abuse such as alcohol, marijuana and tobacco; mental health such as depression, suicidal ideation and treatment needs; family, school and community climate; safety and bullying; students’ health, habits and routines; antisocial behavior; highway safety; and parental attitudes directly from youth.The data is used by public agencies or local nonprofits to educate parents about the harms of social media, expand access to mental health services, create campaigns to raise awareness about underage drinking, develop the SafeUT mobile app, pass legislation and more.“Many of the departments use the data to write grants to see what we are doing. Is it working? How do I measure that? Only with data,” Bello said. “But also it gives a voice to our kids. When else are we asking all these questions from our kids? We don’t have another place where we ask most of these questions.”The assessment was last conducted in March 2023 with 1,020 Summit County youth participating, less than half of eligible students. Bello didn’t have a breakdown of how many parents consented to the survey versus the number of eligible students who didn’t complete it.She said middle and high schoolers are usually willing to take the nearly 130-question survey after they realize its importance and how it can help. Students aren’t required to answer every question and can opt out at any time during the 35-minute survey. The SHARP survey is anonymous. All participants access it from the same link, meaning it cannot be traced back to any user. The survey doesn’t ask for any identifying information, but it does have questions that can gauge whether the student is being honest.Bello also addressed misconceptions that discussing drugs and alcohol with teens is more likely to make them engage in those risky behaviors. She said that is not true.The post Summit County prepares to launch vital student health survey appeared first on Park Record.