MiPHY
Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth
2023-2024 is a MiPHY Implementation Year!
The Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth (MiPHY) is a free online student health survey offered by the Michigan Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to support local and regional needs assessment.
The MiPHY provides student results on health risk behaviors in grades 7, 9, and 11 including:
- Substance use
- Violence
- Physical Activity
- Nutrition
- Sexual behavior
- Emotional health
In addition, the data provided by the MiPHY supports schools with the Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP) by collecting data on the various aspects of the Whole Child.
Schools and districts register and survey via an online system.
MiPHY Webinars
Learn about the Michigan School Health Survey System and get step-by-step instructions for implementing MiPHY and other school health surveys. These webinars include live Q&A with State staff.
Please send an email with subject MiPHYWEB and the date you wish to attend to kramern@michigan.gov for registration information.
2023-2024 Survey System Webinar Dates
- February 15 - 11:00 am
- February 27 - 1:00 pm
What is the MiPHY?
MiPHY stands for the Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth and is a voluntary and anonymous online student health survey offered by the Michigan Departments of Education and Health and Human Services for use by local schools and school districts to assess the health-related needs of their students.
The MiPHY provides building and district level reports on health risk behaviors reported anonymously by students in grades 7, 9, and 11 including substance use, violence, physical activity, nutrition, emotional health, and sexual behavior. The survey also identifies risk and
protective factors most predictive of these health risk behaviors.
The MiPHY is offered every other year and is being offered in the 23-24 school year. Districts choose to participate. Parents in participating districts are given the option to review the survey and opt their student(s) out. Students are informed that the survey is voluntary, and they can opt themselves out. In order to prevent confusion about versions selected by local schools, the survey instrument is not publicly shared on the MDE website.
How were the questions on the MiPHY chosen?
MiPHY covers risk behaviors and risk and protective factors. MiPHY questions address behaviors that contribute to:
- unintentional injuries and violence
- sexual behaviors related to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV infection
- alcohol and other drug use
- tobacco use
- unhealthy dietary behaviors
- inadequate physical activity
The risk behavior questions are aligned with nationally tested questions on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) used by nearly all 50 states and large urban school districts across the county as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.
The risk and protective factor questions come from the Communities That Care survey. Both national surveys have been through a rigorous review process ensuring questions are both valid and reliable.
Why do schools take the survey?
MiPHY was first administered for large-scale administration in 2007-2008 in response to requests from local districts across Michigan to have a survey that would provide local-level data on risk behaviors and risk and protective factors for the school community. Survey results are aggregated, and measures are in place to assure individual student responses cannot be identified. For example, if fewer than 10 students said “yes” to a question, the results are not included in the report to the district.
MiPHY results belong to the local school district. Access to those results is determined at the local level by the Superintendent or Lead Administrator. MDE houses the data and produces reports but has no authority to share the data without local school district approval.
If participation within a county reaches a minimum threshold, the data from participating districts are aggregated and a county-level report is created and available publicly on the Michigan School Health Survey System www.michigan.gov/shs. There are no district or building identifiers in those county-level reports.
The reports, along with other school-based data, are used by local districts to make data-driven decisions to improve prevention and health promotion programming to meet the needs of their students.
Are there personal questions?
There are questions that may be deemed personal and are included so that schools can better understand the various health needs of their students. For example, if students are experiencing an abusive relationship, an unintended pregnancy, or suicidal thoughts, they may have trouble focusing or learning in school. The results are used by schools to inform data-driven prevention and intervention efforts. Schools want to address the health and wellbeing of students so they can learn and thrive.
Can parents look at the survey prior to it being given?
Given that there are multiple versions of the survey, and that not all districts choose to participate, parents should contact their local district administrator for more details. They can learn if their district is administering the MiPHY, and if so, which version is being used (with or without suicide and sexual behavior questions), and how they can review the survey.
These details are provided via parental notification. All participating school districts are required to notify parents in advance of their right to review the survey instrument and/or opt their student(s) out of the survey.
Who can access the data?
MiPHY results belong to the local school district. Access to those results are determined at the local level by the Superintendent or Lead Administrator. MDE houses the data and produces reports but has no authority to share the data without local school district approval. If participation within a county reaches a minimum threshold, the data from participating districts are aggregated and a county-level report is created and available publicly on the Michigan School Health Survey System www.michigan.gov/shs. There are no district or building identifiers in those county-level reports.
Support and Technical Assistance
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Michigan School Health Coordinators' Association
We are mishca, a non-profit made up of local experts on the Whole Child (the WSCC Model).
MiSHCA promotes the health and safety of students, families, and school staff using research-based approaches that improve students’ academic and health outcomes.
Healthy Students are Better Learners
Email: Michiganshca@gmail.com
Website: https://mishca.org/
Twitter: @Michiganshca
Free or low-cost health coverage for children under the age of 19, or pregnant women of any age. Call the MI Child and Healthy Kids hotline at 1.888.988.6300 or michigan.gov/mibridges