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Wasatch County Health Department tells school board student mental health and syphilis rates are rising
Summary
Health department staff presented an annual report to the Wasatch County School Board, highlighting mental-health signals from the SHARPS student survey, a seniors farmers-market voucher program, 428 disease investigations in 2024, and a local rise in sexually transmitted infections including syphilis.
Wasatch County Health Department staff reported to the Wasatch County School Board that student mental-health indicators from the SHARPS survey are signaling the need for additional attention in middle and high schools, and that sexually transmitted infections—including syphilis—have increased in the county.
A board-of-health representative described the SHARPS survey, which requires parental opt-in and is administered in sixth and eighth grades. The presenter said the survey asks about loneliness, family dinner frequency and friendships, and that the department has begun overlapping those responses with other data to better target supports. "They were some of the questions that were asked was things like asking the students, do you feel loneliness?" the presenter said.
Health department staff also reviewed community programs and 2024 statistics, including a seniors farmers-market voucher program and WIC services. "We had in 2024, 428 disease investigations that our epidemiologist and disease investigators had to get a hold of folks and see what was going on," a health department presenter said. Staff noted COVID and influenza counts fell in 2024 compared with a five-year average, while sexually transmitted disease rates have increased locally: "Wasatch County has a fairly high rate of syphilis," the presenter said.
The presenters described the department's emergency-preparedness work and its role on the Community Emergency Planning Board, and pointed the board to a booklet with more program and budget information. Board members asked how to access SHARPS results; staff said past surveys are posted online and that this year’s student-level results will be available in October and offered to circulate a link.
The board did not take action on public-health items at the meeting; the report was provided for information and to encourage continued coordination between the health department and district curriculum and student-support staff.
