I'd like to find a more effective method of assessing the health and wellness of our district's LGBTQ+ students - especially in the context of our rapidly changing sociopolitical climate and concern for its impact on the health and wellness of our LGBTQ+ students. Have you discovered an effective way to assess the health / wellness of your district's LGBTQ+ students?
Oregon Health Authority employs the "Student Health Survey," offering it to 6th, 8th, and 11th graders in Oregon's school districts. That survey offers gender identity options including Two Spirit, Demigirl/boy, Nonbinary, Gender Fluid, and more - and similarly offers robust options related to sexual orientation. However, for example, only 289 11th graders completed the most recent survey in our county - the smallest fraction of our total student population (2300 students at my high school alone, and there are 6 high schools in our ~40,000-student district.) Our district's student assessment system has much more compliance but it is very limited in its ability to disaggregate health / wellness data for our LGBTQ+ students in that demographic options at the forefront of our survey do not extend beyond "non-binary" for gender (hard-wired into the program.) I also recognize that even if we could / did offer more identity options, students may not feel safe and/or compelled to check boxes that label them in that our district assessment tool does not offer the confidentiality that the OHA survey does.
I'm interested in your experiences, similar struggles, lessons learned, ideas, and in any results (ie did your LGBTQ+ students seem to engage?) if you have integrated a system that disaggregates data for your LGBTQ+ youth.
Warmly,
Denise
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Denise Proudfoot BSN, RN
School Health Nurse
Salem-Keizer Public Schools
Salem, OR United States
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