Feature Stories: Children Count Report

Children Count Report: Assessing Child and Youth Surveillance Gaps for Ontario Public Health Units

Working with health units across the province, the WECHU led a Locally Driven Collaborative Project (LDCP) funded through Public Health Ontario (PHO).

The aim of the LDCP was to identify current gaps in health data for school aged children and youth in Ontario for meeting the needs of local level assessment and surveillance. Phase 1 included an environmental scan of Ontario Public Health Units (PHU) and Phase 2 included key informant interviews with experts in the area of child and youth research, government (federal & provincial), and school board leadership in Ontario.

The outcome of this year long research was a set of recommendations detailed in the Children Count Report:

  1. Establish a Provincial Task Force
  2. Advocate for Children and Youth
  3. Support Multi-Sectoral Collaborations
  4. Strengthen and Coordinate Existing Surveillance Systems
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