KIDS ARE ALSO SUFFERING DURING COVID PANDEMIC
We must protect the most vulnerable, Dr. Vanessa Brcic, Adrienne Montani, Dr. Christine Loock, Kim Schmidt and Dr. Michael Kobor write.
The long-term direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 will not be equally distributed in our population, and will compound existing disparities affecting children in B.C. Dr. Vanessa Brcic, Adrienne Montani, Dr. Christine Loock, Kim Schmidt and Dr. Michael Kobor
What would it be like to hear daily updates about how many children are falling behind in B.C.? How would we respond to statistics on the state of child poverty, development, mental health, and access to essential services in B.C., in addition to updates about the transmission of COVID-19?
We have pride in the leadership that helped us flatten the curve in B.C. However, underneath this is a simmering discomfort that predated the pandemic. People who are struggling to make ends meet — particularly women, families, children and youth — are bearing a larger burden of the challenges during the pandemic as they struggle to access services with fewer supports, amid parallel epidemics of increased substance use, mental health concerns and domestic violence.
Resilience is not a DIY effort. Research indicates that resilience is better supported through system-level interventions, rather than relying on individuals with varying levels of privilege and access to supports.
COVID isolation measures have created greater invisibility with increased needs. One in five children in B.C. was living in poverty before the pandemic, and this figure is growing. Child poverty is multiplied in historically marginalized populations, such as children in single-mother families, Indigenous and racialized children, and children with disabilities or complex needs. Families raising children and youth with special needs have lost access to essential supports during the pandemic, often on top of increased financial insecurity. The long-term direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 will not be equally distributed in our population, and will compound existing disparities affecting children in B.C.
Kids may have less risk of active infection, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, but they have a higher risk of long-term and lifelong health consequences. Many kids are at critical developmental stages in which the additional stress faced by adults who care for them during the pandemic can have significant short and long-term impacts on their health, including changes to children’s brains, immune systems and long-term health. Urgent action will help them recover from the effects of social distancing and the health and safety risks arising from increased family stress.
More than 200 child advocates, physicians, researchers, and other health care professionals submitted an open letter this week to Premier John Horgan, eight cabinet ministers, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and B.C.’S representative for children and youth highlighting the essential and sustained action needed for children and youth in the pandemic recovery. We know that working across sectors to address short- and longterm impacts of the pandemic is complex, and this is why we need immediate, transparent, collaborative and equity-oriented efforts that families in B.C. can respond to and rely on.
Child First Canada and allies issued a national call to action for children during the pandemic in May, and our coalition letter followed, requesting urgent action in B.C. as families continue to struggle. The letter recommends that a Safety and Wellness Task Force for Kids be created immediately to guide co-ordinated and collaborative action for children and youth through the pandemic recovery. This includes a call for ongoing, transparent communication from public health departments about the relative benefits and harms of the pandemic response, and how to mitigate indirect and unintended impacts of COVID-19 on our kids.
The letter recommends six priorities for the task force, including:
1. Urgent action toward eliminating child poverty and toxic stress, which have been magnified by the pandemic and the pandemic response.
2. Addressing systemic discrimination and racism in public policy and service delivery that causes many children and youth to fall further through the cracks.
3. Prioritizing funding for accessible crisis and mental health supports for children, youth and parents, especially those with added challenges, including disability, family separation and foster care.
4. Adherence to our commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including equitable access to outdoor play, learning and connection, as these are evidence-based supports for attachment, emotional regulation, cognitive development and mental health.
5. Expanding the capacity of health care services to provide help for families’ health-related social needs, such as poverty, food and housing insecurity, as outlined in a recent Canadian Paediatric Society statement.
6. Adequately supporting the essential needs of parents, significant non-parent others, and community organizations that support children and youth to create responsive and resilient environments for both caregivers and kids.
There are systems in place to manage the pandemic, so we act. There are not sufficient systems in place to protect the most vulnerable — and there should be. Systems are often overburdened, inaccessible for those in greatest need, and can perpetuate marginalization. Action now will ensure that B.C. is on the road to eliminating health disparities magnified by COVID-19. Where the work is happening, we can build upon it to ensure the full complexity of issues affecting children and youth are addressed, and that a broad Health in All Policies approach is taken to ensure that policies from all sectors support kids’ resilience and healthy development.
Turning our attention now to the need for enhanced and unique supports for children, youth and the adults supporting them in the pandemic recovery is urgent and wise.
Concerns about annual budgets and siloed responses are short-sighted, as research demonstrates that delaying action for children’s well-being costs more in the long term. It is our choice to act — and pay — now or later. We are choosing to come together for all the children and youth in B.C., now. Please join us in this effort. Vanessa Brcic is a family physician, registered therapeutic counsellor, UBC clinical assistant professor, CCPA-B. C. research associate, and co-founder and vice-chair, Basics for Health Society; Adrienne Montani is provincial co-ordinator, First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition; Christine Loock is a developmental pediatrician, associate professor at UBC Pediatrics, and co-founder, Canadian Social Pediatrics Interest Group and UBC RICHER Social Pediatrics Program; Kim Schmidt is research manager, Healthy Starts Theme, B.C. Children’s Hospital Research Institute; Michael Kobor is a UBC professor, Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in social epigenetics, and theme lead, Healthy Starts Theme.