Grant: Operating Grant

A health disorder early in life has tremendous impact on a child's developmental health trajectory. Among healthy children, approximately one in five kindergartners (20%) lacks the developmental skills to take advantage of school-based education. Among children with identified special health needs at that age, this proportion rises to almost 80%. The study's objective is to estimate prevalence and investigate social determinants of developmental outcomes for children with health disorders at an early age, using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). There is evidence, both from Canada and from other countries, that childhood health disorders are associated with lower socioeconomic status. It is not known whether the size of the SES effect is larger in children with health disorders than in typically developing children. Study objectives will be achieved through three steps. First, using the existing data for 8 provinces and 2 territories collected from 2010-2014, we will investigate differences in the EDI scores among children with identified health disorders (reported on the EDI). Second, the linked databases of EDI with sociodemographic data will be used to explore association between socioeconomic characteristics and rates of specific diagnoses among 5-year-olds. Third, for 3 of these 10 regions, there are additional health and/or education databases available that will be linked at an individual level. These data will be used to establish the differences in the EDI outcomes in relation to the timing of diagnosis, and presence of intervention or treatment. With the help of a long-established team of collaborators from across Canada, this study builds on existing resources and continuing research. The results of analyses of developmental outcomes for those children combined with SES will have implications for both health service delivery and school-based intervention strategies. Results will also contribute to a framework for public policy.