2022 Application Year – Adolescent Health

NPM 7.2: Injury Hospitalization - Ages 10 through 19

 Objective:

1) Increase suicide prevention knowledge and awareness in adolescents ages 12 through 18, within the NM Youth Peer-to-Peer Helper (NM YP2PH) program by 2022

2) Increase youth resiliency by 5 percentage points in adolescents ages 12 through 18, within the NM YP2PH program by June 2022.

 Strategies:

1)    Increase knowledge and awareness of youth suicide and prevention.

2)    Increase youth resiliency through program activities.

3)    Continue to update, refine and develop other evaluation tools for the program.

Activities:

Provide Annual Youth Peer to Peer Helper Trainings for 400 youth who are part of their school or organization Youth Peer to Peer Helper (YP2PH) Program and their adult sponsors in the following areas:

Youth Suicide Prevention: Includes youth suicide data, risk & resiliency factors, warning signs, myths & facts, state and national resources. In 2017 almost 10% of high school students had attempted suicide, and 15% had made a suicide plan (NM YRRS). The program’s outcomes are measured by increase in knowledge and in the population survey measures.

Peer Helping Skills: Recognizing when help is needed, successful communication (including listening skills & problem solving), “6 Step Helping Skills” to assist peers, how to refer their peers to appropriate helping sources, recognizing when adult professional help is needed, and importance of self-care.

Positive Youth Development (PYD) Approach:  Includes PYD guiding principles, 40 developmental assets, youth leadership skills, building healthy peer-to-peer & youth-adult partnerships.

Team bonding is intertwined throughout the training. Some fun and creative activities include creating agreements, promoting teamwork, communication & problem solving, getting to know each other on a deeper level, and recognizing similarities with one another, not just differences.

Evaluation Tools:

-       Youth Pre & Post Program Survey

-       Sponsor End of Year Survey

-       School Principal and/or Parent End of Year Survey

Evidence-Based Strategy Measure:

-       Number of students trained in PYD, youth suicide prevention, and peer     helping skills by the end of 2022.

-       Percent or number of students 12-18 years demonstrating an increase in personal resiliency (target increase by 5 percentage points) by June 2022.

Adolescent Injury and Hospitalization

During FY22, NM Department of Health (DOH), Office of School & Adolescent Health (OSAH) will work on updating the training material to be implemented in person or virtually due to COVID 19.  A sponsor and a peer helper from each program will participate in a YP2PH Train the Trainer Retreat either in person or virtually.  This training includes PYD, youth suicide prevention, and peer help skills.

Youth Suicide Prevention: Includes youth suicide data, risk & resiliency factors, warning signs, myths & facts, state and national resources.

Peer Helping Skills: Recognizing when help is needed, successful communication (including listening skills & problem solving), “6 Step Helping Skills” to assist peers, how to refer their peers to appropriate helping sources, recognizing when adult professional help is needed, and importance of self-care.

Positive Youth Development (PYD) Approach:  Includes PYD guiding principles, 40 developmental assets, youth leadership skills, building healthy peer-to-peer & youth-adult partnerships.

Throughout the training we will incorporate team bonding using fun and creative activities that promote teamwork, communication, problem solving, getting to know each other on a deeper level, and recognizing similarities with one another, not just differences. 

Due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, there were challenges our peer helpers and sponsors were facing themselves, therefore some were not able to participate in the program at all or participated only when they could.  We also lost members of the NM AYAH CoIIN who retired, changed jobs or had other commitments that prevented them from participating.  Now that things may go back to normal and majority of the pandemic restrictions are being lifted, OSAH will complete the following during FY 22:

1. Recruit other members to join the NM AYAH CoIIN and 2) Work In partnership with Apex Evaluation to review and refine our NM YP2PH Program evaluation and reporting tools. These tools will be utilize to measure a) The percent of youth peer helpers who have increased youth suicide knowledge and awareness using SOS and QPR questions on pre- and post- test; b) The percent of youth peer helpers who referred peers to adults using the Sources of Strength youth referral questions on pre- and post- NM YP2PH program surveys; and c) The percent of youth peer helpers who have increased resiliency based the NM Youth Risk and Resilience Survey (NM YRRS) questions on pre- and post- NM YP2PH program surveys.

The program will be implemented, and the data will be collected on 30-40 programs statewide and a comprehensive final report will be completed and distributed to all partners by September 2022.