PASH is a five-year grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) and administered through the Office of Student Health Services. Formerly known as Project ARREST, PASH helps reduce youth risk behaviors that lead to unintended pregnancy, STDs, and HIV through education and programming in three focus areas:

1. Sexual health education,
2. Sexual health services, and
3. Safe and supportive environments.

The program started in 2018-19 and provides access to evidence-based curriculum, technical assistance, workshops, and professional development on topics such as HIV/AIDS prevention, safer sex, LGBTQ+ support, healthy relationships, and peer mediation. PASH program staff work closely with health teachers, nurses, school climate personnel, and external partner organizations (including the Mazzoni Center and ACCESS Matters Health Resource Centers) to provide additional workshops, sexual health services, and counseling.

As the external evaluator for the PASH project, each school year, the Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE):

• Administers satisfaction surveys,
• Collects information about the fidelity of implementation of the PASH program curricula in health classes,
• Conducts interviews and observations with program participants about their experiences, and
• Measures program reach, including the number of students and teachers served, demographic information, and the number of referrals to outside agencies.

ORE also administers the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) as part of the PASH grant. The survey covers six topic areas, including:

• Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence,
• Sexual behaviors related to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection,
• Alcohol and other drug use,
• Tobacco use,
• Unhealthy dietary behaviors, and
• Inadequate physical activity.

This survey is conducted in cities and states across the United States, and it is one of the most important national data sources on youth risk behaviors that lead to death and disability.

• Powerpoint presentation and detail tables of Philadelphia-specific results from the 2021 YRBS compiled by the CDC
• Summary graphs and Powerpoint presentation of Philadelphia-specific results from the 2019 YRBS compiled by the CDC
• Powerpoint presentation of Philadelphia-specific results from the 2017 YRBS compiled by the CDC

Please contact Dr. Erin McCrossan, Senior Research Associate, with further questions: ecassar@philasd.org.