Your questions, concerns, and comments are invited. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey will help Oregonians identify high school students' current health and safety habits so that improvements can be made where needed. Healthy lifestyles of Oregon students mean longer, more productive lives for the state's young people, as well as improved learning in the classroom. People develop behavior patterns in their teen years which can eventually strengthen or threaten their quality and length of life. Currently, many adolescents in Oregon use tobacco, eat too much fat and too few fruits and vegetables, fail to exercise regularly, and participate in early and unprotected sexual activity.
Students often can improve their health by changing what they do each day.
Programs such as drug-free schools, regular physical education classes, health and nutrition courses, and safety training can be used to equip students with health promotion and disease prevention skills, and injury prevention information. Many Oregon counties and local communities have started community health assessments, with a great deal of focus on youth interventions. The YRBS can provide a wealth of data for local school and community assessment. Survey results can serve as a valuable tool for legislators, policy makers, school administrators, and teachers as they make decisions about new disease prevention and health promotion policies, services, programs, and educational activities. Parents and students can use these results to evaluate potential changes toward better health.