Technical Documentation

About the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey

The findings described on the Youth Data Explorer are from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS). The OSDUHS is a biennial survey of students in Grades 7 to 12 with a focus on health behaviours and attitudes. Information from the OSDUHS is used to support the planning and evaluation of public health programs and services.

Analysis Notes

Analyses were conducted using SAS software version 9.4. The results represent prevalence estimates as a percentage of the student population. Percentages are expressed as a point estimate with 95% confidence intervals (CI) around the estimate. This indicates the range that the true or actual percentage falls within 95 out of 100 times. In charts, the 95% CI is represented by an error bar.

Data Release Guidelines

Results based on a small number of students are more likely to be unreliable. Results like these were suppressed if they met any of the following conditions:

1. an estimate of less than 0.5%
2. a sample size, or denominator, less than 50 students
3. a coefficient of variation (CV) greater than 33.3%

More Information

For more information, or if you require this information in an accessible format, please contact the Durham Health Connection Line at 905-666-6241 or 1-800-841-2729. You can also visit our Durham Region Health Department website.