Evidencebased results from the Youth Health Survey encourages change
Partners in Planning for Healthy Living asked, youth answered and then everyone got busy. From yoga to salad lunch specials, youth in Manitoba are engaging in a variety of activities to support their health and well‐being guided by the results from the Youth Health Survey – an extensive survey led by the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) and coordinated by Partners in Planning for Healthy Living (PPHL) in 2009 that revealed how youth are spending their leisure time, how active they are and what they are eating.
“Having developed and distributed specific results for schools, school divisions and RHAs, PPHL was interested in sharing how some communities were putting their results to use and hopefully sparking ideas for other communities to get involved too,” said Dr. Donna Turner, Partners in Planning for Healthy Living chair.
With funding from various partners, PPHL worked with schools and agencies from around the province to produce Moving Towards Healthier Lifestyles: Stories from the Manitoba Youth Health Survey ‐ a DVD highlighting the imaginative ideas that are engaging youth and encouraging participation.
“We are encouraged by the work that schools have done in partnership with their own students and their community partners to help all Manitoba students lead healthy active lives, ” said Grant McManes, Louis Riel School Division’s healthy living coordinator. “School communities can be more direct in their programming and support when they have access to current and localized data and we look forward to using the results of the next Youth Health Survey.”
“Collecting, sharing and using local level data is so important,” said Bev Unger, Regional Manager Public Health with South Eastman Health/Santé Sud‐Est, adding the DVD is a great way to see what other schools and students have done. “By listening to what our youth are telling us about their lifestyle and health choices, we can better plan and develop initiatives at the RHA, School Division and school level in South Eastman.”
Partners in Planning for Healthy Living is a group of Manitoba partner organizations including the RHAs, government departments and non‐government groups who share a common mandate for preventing chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
