About the Data
Traditional surveillance data – like our biennial Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (PNAS) – help us track substance misuse over time, as well as monitor changes in risk and protective factors, such as mental health, social support, and school climate. We also rely on data from focus groups and key informant interviews to gain a deeper understanding of patterns we see in our PNAS results (and to shape future iterations of the PNAS), and embrace participatory action research that enables community members – particularly youth – to make sense of, and create action plans based on, data. Like any source of information, data are open to interpretation and discussion; like rudders on a ship, the direction data take us depends on the person, or people, doing the steering. Because of this, SPIFFY prioritizes partner and community input when making meaning from data. As a result, we are able to create informative narratives around youth substance misuse in Hampshire County that are data-driven, reliable, and most importantly, grounded by collective understanding.
Strategic Planning
Click below to view SPIFFY’s Prevention Needs Assessment Survey Reports and the Strategic Planning Assessment Report.
Check out SPIFFY's latest report!
In October and November of 2023, SPIFFY administered a parent & caregiver survey throughout Hampshire County. The survey assessed caregivers’ drinking and cannabis use behaviors, risk perceptions of their own use and their children’s use, and disapproval, permissiveness, and rules regarding their children’s alcohol and cannabis use. Click here to view the report.
2023 SPIFFY PNAS/Assessment Reports
- Youth Alcohol Use in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Youth Cannabis Use in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Youth Vaping (Nicotine) in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Youth Smoking in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Unprescribed Presciption Drug Use Among Hampshire County Youth (Report here)
- Youth Mental Health in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Social Engagement in Hampshire County (Report here)
- School Safety and Climate in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Parent/Caregiver Support in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Youth Dating Relationships in Hampshire County (Report here)
- Parent and Caregiver Survey Results (Report here)
2021-2022 SPIFFY Hampshire County Assessment Report
Data Sources
If you are interested in looking at local, state, or Federal level data, click below.
Federal-Level Data
- SAMHSA Survey Database (Resource here)
- Monitoring the Future 2021 Results (Resource here)
- National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) Datasets 1999-2021 (Resource here)
- National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2021 – Trevor Project Data (Resource here)
- Monitoring E-Cigarette Use Among Youth – CDC Data (Resource here)
- Drug Overdoses in Youth – 2019 Data (Resource here)
- 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People (Resource here)
State-Level Data
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Learn more and access data here)
- Interactive MA map of adult smoking rates (Resource here)
- Map of municipal policies that cap tobacco retails (Resource here)
Local Western Massachusetts Data
- Hampshire County Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (PNAS) Data: The Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (PNAS) is a biennial survey administered to all 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students throughout Hampshire County. This survey monitors youth substance use, mental health, and other risk and protective factors (e.g., access, risk perceptions, parent disapproval, social support), and also assesses key demographic information. The latter allows us to disaggregate results to examine whether any group differences exist, ultimately to reduce disparities and promote health equity. The PNAS has been administered in Hampshire County since 2007.
- DSC-WAV data dashboard (coming soon)
- SPIFFY’s interactive data dashboard is the result of a yearlong collaboration between SPIFFY and the Data Science Corp – Wrangle, Analyze, Visualize (DSC-WAV) initiative at Amherst and Smith Colleges, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). During the fall of 2021, three DSC-WAV undergraduates at Amherst College created the initial dashboard. Then, in the spring of 2022, four DSC-WAV students at Smith College expanded upon the work performed by the Amherst team. Finally, in summer of 2022, one member of the Smith DSC-WAV team finalized the dashboard, which included many data refinements, performing data integrity checks, and making multiple coding adjustments.
- As a result of these steadfast efforts, SPIFFY built an interactive data dashboard that consists of Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (PNAS) data dating back to 2007. Users can select from a variety of parameters and drop-down menu options to explore changes in youth substance use and risk and protective factors over time. One of the key features of the dashboard is the ability to disaggregate trend data and examine outcomes for specific groups of youth (e.g., look at rates of cannabis use over time for trans and non-binary youth compared to cis girls and boys). SPIFFY’s hope is that this dashboard will empower users to independently analyze PNAS data, explore results in new and creative ways, and in result, identify novel approaches to promoting the health and well-being of all Hampshire County youth
- Cannabis Establishments in Hampshire County: An interactive Google Map
- Health Information Exchange (HIE) (Resource here): The HIE database compiles regional and state data such as emergency department overdose data and makes certain types of data more rapidly available than previously possible such as Massachusetts Department of Public Health data. The sources and kinds of data available are diverse. Contributing partners include municipalities, healthcare providers, allies with shared initiatives, agencies and a host of other community sector leaders. If you have questions about this resource, you can email Austin Sanders, Regional Database Project Manager in the Northampton Health Dept. at: asanders@northamptonma.gov
- Tobacco impact in your neighborhood (Resource here)
- Springfield Youth Health Survey Interactive Data Portal
- The Springfield Youth Health Survey is conducted every other year among 8th grade students enrolled in Springfield Public Schools. It is part of the Springfield Youth Health Survey Initiative, a collaboration of the Gándara Center, Springfield Public Schools, Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, Massachusetts Gaming Commission, and Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services.
- 2021 Data from Survey of Springfield 8th Grade Students
- 2021 Data from Survey of Springfield 10th & 12th Grade Students
- PHI 2023 Report: Youth Mental Health in Western MA (Resource link)