COMPASS Study
COMPASS is a comprehensive longitudinal study collecting student and school-level data from secondary students and the schools they attend in Canada.
COMPASS collects student-level data from youth in secondary school on various health topics, including:
- obesity (e.g., BMI),
- sedentary behaviours,
- physical activity,
- mental health,
- healthy eating and diet,
- substance use,
- bullying,
- academic outcomes,
- sleep duration, and
- demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, income, ethnicity)
COMPASS also collects school-level data by measuring the presence or absence of relevant programs and/or policies, and changes to school policies, practices, or resources related to health topics included in the student survey.
Across Canada, COMPASS has collected approximately 600,000 student responses in more than 280 schools. COMPASS is currently being implemented in five provinces across Canada, including Prince Edward Island, Québec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.
COMPASS was first implemented on PEI during the 2022-23 school year. Participation in the COMPASS survey will allow us to compare health topics for youth over time and to other jurisdictions that have participated in COMPASS.
COMPASS PEI
- Goals of the project
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COMPASS aims to effectively guide and continually improve youth health promotion research and practice. The purpose of COMPASS is to evaluate how changes in programs, policies, or built environment resources within schools or surrounding communities are related to changes in youth risk factors and health outcomes. COMPASS also aims to support the use of the data collected within the school community to improve health and well-being.
- PEI COMPASS Study Previous Results
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2022-2023
2022-2023 Provincial COMPASS Report (English Version)
2022-2023 Provincial COMPASS Report (French Version)
- More information
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For more information on the COMPASS study, please visit https://uwaterloo.ca/compass-system/about.
- Team members and contact information
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COMPASS is based out of the University of Waterloo and is led by Co-Principal Investigators Dr. Scott Leatherdale and Dr. Karen Patte.
The implementation of COMPASS on PEI is led by the Chief Public Health Office - Department of Health and Wellness, and the Department of Education and Early Years, in collaboration with PEI's school boards.
All questions related to the COMPASS project, including requests for access and use of the PEI COMPASS dataset, can be sent to Cody Davenport (PEI COMPASS Research Project Lead) via email at cjdavenport@gov.pe.ca or by phone at (902) 370-8642.