The Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) is sharing information on student health data that was collected in partnership with local secondary schools across the region during the 2024/25 school year. Among eight participating schools, 57% of students completed the survey. The COMPASS study measures health behaviors such as cannabis use, mental health, physical activity, alcohol, and tobacco use.
General trends in the data tell us that:
- Students in the NWHU catchment area report more adverse health behaviours compared to Ontario average. Exceptions include hours of sleep per night (better than Ontario average) and meeting national guideline for physical activity (similar to the Ontario average).
- Girls report higher rates of substance use and self-rate their mental health poorer than boys.
- Substance use rates increase over time, with the lowest rates among Grade 9 students and the highest among Grade 12 students.
- Hours of sleep per night and self-rating of mental health as good, very good, or excellent show concerning patterns (fewer students report adequate sleep and positive mental health over time).
2024/25 Compass results showed that:
- 28% of students eat breakfast 7 days per week
- 6% sometimes go to bed hungry because there is not enough money to buy food
- 72% are meeting the national guideline of 60 min/day of physical activity
- 3% are meeting the national guideline of 2 hours or less of recreational screen time per day
- 27% of students used an e-cigarette (vape) in the past 30 days
- 48% of students who have never vaped are susceptible to start vaping in the future
- 16% have smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days
- 22% reported binge drinking alcohol in the last 30 days
- 22% reported using cannabis in the past 30 days
- 55% rated their mental health as good, very good or excellent
COMPASS is a prospective cohort study conducted in schools across Canada and led by researchers at the University of Waterloo. Students in the NWHU region have participated in the study since 2012-13. Learn more about the COMPASS study by visiting the University of Waterloo website. The full 2024/25 NWHU School Health Profile report is now available on the Reports, Publications, and Statistics page of our website.
