Healthy Child Development
“Healthy child development is at the core of Community Development because children are essential to a healthy and sustainable community”
How many children attend school everyday?
- more than 5.1 million Canadian children and adolescents attend school everyday
Schools are where
- children and youth learn, play and love
- adults work and engage
- families and neighbourhood gather
BC adolescent Health survey gathers data on
- Child behaviour
- Child Physical & Mental Health
- Family Economic Well-Being
- Youth Goals
Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) Vision
All children thriving in healthy societies
Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) Mission
dedicated to improving the heath and wellbeing of children through interdisciplinary research and mobilizing knowledge
EDI
Early development instrument
MDI
middle development instrument
Who uses EDI data?
- early childhood coalitions, early child development workers, and school representatives
- ministries of children and family development, education and health
- researchers
Health Concerns Addressed in School Settings Include:
- unintentional injuries (leading cause of death for children ages 1-19)
- communicable disease
- unhealthy weights
- mental health issues
- risky behaviours
what is one of the most cost effective public health interventions?
immunization against vaccine-preventable communicable diseases
how many young Canadians live with anxiety, attention deficit, depression, addiction and other disorders?
1.2 million (15%)
How many children in Canada under 12 live in poverty?
12%
How many Indigenous children under 18 live in poverty?
50%
Comprehensive School Health
- CSH is an internationally recognized framework for supporting improvements in students’ educational outcomes while addressing school health in a planned, integrated and holistic way.
Why Do we Need Comprehensive School Health?
- Health behaviors have changed
- Physical environments have changed – less green space, climate changes
- Car-centered society, fast food outlets, etc. (over 50% driven to school by car)
- Social and cultural environment has changed (ie -technology)
- Increased income inequities, consumer access (rural areas)
- Over 1 in 4 Canadian adults are obese, and children/youth aged 6-17, 8.6% are obese (obese: 20% or more above ideal weight)
The Impact of this Problem
- Increase in chronic diseases
- Increase in children who will develop type 2 diabetes
- Children may no longer outlive their parents
What has research shown about school settings
School settings have a positive impact on most of the health behaviours and outcomes of this population
4 pillars of CSH
- Social and physical environment
- Teaching and learning
- Healthy school policy
- Partnerships and services
