P.E.I. student health survey to continue, but frequency cut in half

A survey examining the health and well-being of Island students will return, but data collection and publication will take place every four years instead of two, the P.E.I. government says.

Government pulled its funding for the Shapes-PEI survey in its 2016-17 budget. That means data collection, which was scheduled for the current school year, never took place.

4-year data collection cycle

When the most recent Shapes-PEI report was presented to the public in the fall of 2016, its creators said the future of the survey was in question as financial support from the provincial government had been withdrawn.

"I'm pleased to know that there is still interest in continuing data collection with Shapes-PEI because it is such a valuable partnership between government, the schools and ourselves here at UPEI,"said Jo-Ann MacDonald, one of the lead investigators involved with the survey.

But she said "there are concerns about going to a four-year data collection cycle."

Early warning signs

MacDonald explained how government policy interventions to improve the health of school-age children might not be as responsive given the longer reporting cycle.

"We may be following something that's just starting to emerge, and we're seeing a warning sign earlier"with the current system of collecting data every second year, she said.

Two years later, she said that warning sign "may have escalated to a higher degree so your interventions may not be as timely."

Highest rate of binge drinking in Canada

The most recent survey report, delivered in October2016, found Island youth had the highest rate of binge drinking in the country. It also found ongoing problems with smoking, bullying and a lack of physical activity.

• Physical inactivity, smoking and drinking issues for P.E.I. youth: School survey

Since it debuted in 2008, the Shapes-PEI survey has collected data one year, then presented its findings based on that data in a series of reports the following year.

Each school that participates in the survey receives a report of results from that school's students.

Windsor Wight,principal of East Wiltshire Intermediate School,said his school has used the report to adapt its health curriculum, and set school goals for the students.

"I think it's important to have that information,"he said. "We're trying to raise kids up to be good citizens and with that comes more than just academics. There's all kinds of things, and this survey gives us information on some of those other things."

Data collection will continue, says government

In the most recent year it received funding, Shapes-PEI was provided with a grant of more than $60,000 from the P.E.I. Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture.

A spokesperson for the department said government would save between $50,000 and $100,000 in each four-year cycle by reducing the frequency of the survey.

The province also pointed out health data will be collected most years through other survey efforts, including Health Canada's national survey of student tobacco, alcohol and drug use.

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