SPARK: Conversations by Children's Healthcare Canada - Missed Opportunities Can Last a Lifetime: The State of Infant and Early Mental Health in Canada

Missed Opportunities Can Last a Lifetime: The State of Infant and Early Mental Health in Canada

05/30/22 • 23 min

SPARK: Conversations by Children's Healthcare Canada

Infancy is a developmental period when children are most vulnerable and when they present with the greatest potential. Infant and early mental health (IEMH) involves the social, emotional, cognitive wellbeing of infants and young children. IEMH care aims to ensure every child has the best possible start in life.

Research tells us that:

Infant and early child development sets the stage for later development and functioning.
Babies and young children who experience adversity are at increased risk of poorer health and social outcomes in childhood and later in life
Such adverse childhood experiences influence development of the baby’s brain, the number and type of connections between brain cells, how they respond to stress, and even their DNA
Young children are the most vulnerable with the least access to mental health services and supports
The development of infants and young children is strongly affected by the quality of their relationships with adults (parents or other caregivers)
Love and nurturing can protect against some of the negative experiences of young children

We know what to do. We have the evidence and practice and policy requirements are clear. Changes are required to training and education of healthcare practitioners. Early intervention services must be accessible in a timely manner and responsive to the needs of the child and family. Policy change is required to support at-risk families and involves partnership between families, healthcare, community services, and child welfare. Listen while Dr. Chaya Kulkarni discusses leadership, evidence-informed practice and policy, resources, and educational opportunities to increase Canadian capacity to ensure all babies get off to a great start.

This session will be of interest to:

Healthcare professionals
Families & Caregivers
Social service providers
Legal services

Speaker Bio

Dr. Chaya Kulkarni is the Director of Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion (IEMHP). This national organization, at The Hospital for Sick Children, also known as SickKids, aims to improve outcomes across the lifespan through translating and promoting the science of early mental health into practice with families during pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood. Chaya is also an advisor to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee at the Ontario Centre of Excellence on Child & Youth Mental Health, and a member of the Board at Family Day Care Services. Prior to joining IEMHP, Chaya was VP, Parent and Professional Education at Invest in Kids, and has also served as Senior Policy Analyst and Researcher for the Office of the Official Opposition, Queen’s Park.

Research tells us that:

Infant and early child development sets the stage for later development and functioning.
Babies and young children who experience adversity are at increased risk of poorer health and social outcomes in childhood and later in life
Such adverse childhood experiences influence development of the baby’s brain, the number and type of connections between brain cells, how they respond to stress, and even their DNA
Young children are the most vulnerable with the least access to mental health services and supports
The development of infants and young children is strongly affected by the quality of their relationships with adults (parents or other caregivers)
Love and nurturing can protect against some of the negative experiences of young children

This session will be of interest to:

Healthcare professionals
Families & Caregivers
Social service providers
Legal services

Speaker Bio

Previous Episode

COVID’s Impact on Routine Immunizations

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, including best practices for immunizing populations efficiently. To retain what we have learned, and continue to improve vaccine confidence and uptake, the Canadian population will rely on experts like Dr. Manish Sadarangani to lead robust infectious disease and prevention research. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we sat down with Dr. Sadarangani to discuss natural and vaccine immunity to COVID-19, approaches to combatting new variants, and how we can improve vaccine and science communication. We explore the possibility of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming a routine vaccination, and how to best promote the importance of keeping up with those routine childhood immunizations.

Next Episode

Getting the Facts Straight: Tackling mis/disinformation through patient-provider relationships

Description:

COVID served as a catalyst for the spread and uptake of mis- and disinformation, threatening the trust Canadian citizens have in vaccines and, frankly, putting lives at risk. Further, the extra disease burden on the healthcare system exacerbated pre-existing problems, including in the area of health human resources (e.g., staff burnout and shortages). Some may ask, So what? Why are these problems so concerning? How do we go about rebuilding trust in healthcare and science? Dr. Katharine Smart has been tackling these problems as President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). As she transitions to the role of Past-President, Dr. Smart joins us to reflect on these issues, speaking to the importance of the longitudinal patient-provider relationship and innovative ways that clinicians can meet people where they’re at.

This is Part 1 in a two-part series. To hear Dr. Smart discuss staff burnout and bringing our healthcare system back from the brink of collapse, listen to Part 2 of this series, “Healing the Healthcare System: Staff burnout, honest leadership and collaboration”.

Note: This interview was recorded in July, 2022, prior to Dr. Smart’s transition to CMA Past-President.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Katharine Smart is a pediatrician in Whitehorse, Yukon and Past President of the Canadian Medical Association. Her work is centered on developing collaborative partnerships with community and government services to serve marginalized children using a model of social pediatrics. She works primarily with children who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood events, and she witnesses the broad and lasting impact these events have on children and their development daily. She is passionate about improving services for marginalized children in an effort to change their life trajectory.

In addition to her community-based work, Dr. Smart enjoys acute care and provides on-call services to the hospital. Before moving to the Yukon, she was a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Smart is the past president of the Yukon Medical Association.