Grant: Op. Grant: ECRs in Human Development, Child and Youth Health - Indigenous

Children and youth living in foster homes are a disadvantaged population who suffer from a large burden of mental and physical disease. Due to the ongoing legacy of colonialism, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children continue to be dramatically overrepresented in foster care. As well, Indigenous children likely experience disparities in health outcomes because they face healthcare inequality. However, these disparities remain largely unquantified. In Canada, until the work we present in this proposal, there were no national data on educational, poverty, or health outcomes for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children in foster homes. Reducing the consequences of foster home experience on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children is a pressing concern with large cultural and societal benefits. Identifying and quantifying the needs of these children is needed to inform future investments to health services delivery. To address this large data gap we have developed a data platform built from existing data with unique health care linkage. This data is pan-Canadian, and uses three cohorts of data based upon 2011, 2016, and 2021 data on children in foster homes, and spans twelve years (2011-2023). We will analyze the exposure of living in a foster home on educational, poverty, health, mental health, and death outcomes. These datasets have been created with formal research collaborations with First Nations and Inuit national organizations, and at their request we will analyse the results by First Nations and Inuit populations. These multiple cohorts will enable the largest analysis to-date of educational, economic and health outcomes, and health care system performance for First Nations and Inuit children in Canada. The results will provide key evidence to inform policies to improve the health and mental health care access for children in foster homes across provinces and territories, and internationally.