Overview of the Navajo Youth Risk Behavior Survey

The Division of Adolescents and School Health (DASH) at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), in collaboration with representatives from state, local agencies and other federal agencies. The primary purpose of the YRBS is to monitor priority health risks that contribute to the leading causes of mortality, morbidity and social problems among youth in the United States. These behaviors fall into six categories:

1. Behaviors that result in unintentional injuries and violence,
2. Sexual behaviors that could result in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, other sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy,
3. Alcohol and other drug use,
4. Tobacco use,
5. Unhealthy dietary behaviors, and
6. Physical inactivity.

In addition, the YRBS measures the prevalence of obesity and other priority health issues.

The questions on the YRBS primarily focus on students’ behaviors and experiences, not their knowledge or beliefs. Behaviors and experiences are measured directly to determine the level of risk among adolescents. Health experts in their respective field, with national health objectives in mind, developed the YRBS questions.

NYRBS is designed to:

• Determine the prevalence of health behaviors;
• Assess whether health behaviors will increase, decrease, or stay the same overtime;
• Examine the co-occurrence of health behaviors;
• Provide comparable data among national, state, territorial and associated tribal and local entities; and
• Monitor progress toward achieving Healthy People objectives.

The NYRBS results are being used to do the following:

• Create awareness of the extent to which youth practice health risk behaviors;
• Develop programs that address health risk behaviors practiced by youth and set program goals;
• Focus on school health education teacher trainings and instructional programs;
• Support health-related policies and legislations;
• Seek funding for school health programs; and
• Garner support for future surveys.

Policy sections 1-8 provide guidelines for the NYRBS Policy and Procedures. All policies and procedures are requirements to adhere to in order to conduct the survey throughout schools on the Navajo Nation and surrounding communities.