Prioritizing children in priority neighbourhoods

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

Five Oshawa neighbourhoods are included on the list of priority areas according to a report from the region’s health department on early childhood development.

The report from the health department is titled “Making Children the Priority: Early Childhood Development in Priority Neighbourhoods.”

The five Oshawa neighbourhoods include Lakeview, Gibb West, Downtown Oshawa, Central Park and Beatrice North.

In total there are seven priority neighbourhoods, with Downtown Ajax and Downtown Whitby rounding out the list.

The report focuses on early childhood development in the neighbourhoods, specifically indicators which relate to children under six who live in low-income households, as well as the enhanced 18-month well-baby visit, breastfeeding, school readiness and police-reported domestic incidents.

The report states early childhood is the most important developmental stage in a person’s life, and research says experiences from this point in a person’s life can shape their brain, as well as influence learning, behaviour and health throughout their life.

“Children that become vulnerable in their early childhood growth and development are at higher risk for health and social problems later in life,” reads the report.

The report notes there are five aspects which are equally important that have a strong influence on a child’s future. These are physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive, and communication.

According to the report, 13 per cent of Durham Region children under the age of six lived in low-income households in 2016, which is lower than the provincial rate of 20 per cent.

However, in the seven priority neighbourhoods in Durham Region, that figured jumped to 34 per cent.

The enhanced 18-month well-baby visit is the last regularly scheduled visit with a doctor or a nurse practitioner before a child is able to enter school. This provides an opportunity to see how a child is developing in early-age.

The report shows in Durham Region 57 per cent of two-year-old children had an enhanced 18-month well-baby visit, which is higher than Ontario’s rate of 54 per cent, as well as an increase from March 2012 when it was 48 per cent.

Rates ranged by neighbourhood from 33 per cent to 64 per cent between 2010 and 2012, but increased to 46 per cent to 75 per cent between 2013 and 2015.

In Durham’s priority neighbourhoods, 56 per cent of two-year-old children had their enhanced 18-month well-baby visit from 2013 to 2015.

This  is an increase from the period between 2010 and 2012, when it was 45 per cent.

The report also outlines the number of children who were breastfed in Durham’s priority neighbourhoods.

Overall in Durham, 91 per cent of newborn children were breastfed from 2014 to 2017, which is slightly lower than Ontario’s overall 92 per cent.

In priority neighbourhoods, it was only 84 per cent.

School readiness was determined by the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a survey completed by teachers of children in senior kindergarten.

“One of the things is that the health department is working with a lot of community partners to look at a consistent regional approach to preventing and addressing EDI vulnerabilities,” says Mary-Anne Pietrusiak, a member of the region’s health analytics and research department.

The EDI measures the five core areas of early childhood development.

These are physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge.

The EDI is a validated tool developed by researchers at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University and is used throughout Canada and around the world, according to the report.

“What we are doing specifically is sort of looking at the information that’s coming through for Durham Region children, and trying to provide consistent messages if it’s coming from a public health nurse, or it’s coming from a childcare worker, or it’s coming from a teacher, to basically support parents and childcare providers as well to say ‘Okay, this is what’s happening in Durham Region,’” Pietrusiak says.

In Durham, the number of children who were considered vulnerable in one or more of the five core areas were similar to that of Ontario, while vulnerability in emotional maturity increased between 2012 and 2015.

Vulnerability in language and cognitive development, and in communication and general knowledge were also lower than the province. However, vulnerability in physical health and well-being were higher.

Children in the priority neighbourhoods were more vulnerable in each of the five EDI core areas.

However, the report states “significant improvement” was made in school readiness, and child vulnerability has decreased in physical health and well-being decreased between 2012 and 2015.

However, there was no change in the other four core areas.

The report analyzed how witnessing an act of domestic violence can affect a child’s well-being.

“Children see or hear approximately 40 to 80 per cent of family violence happening within their home. Research shows that children who are exposed to violence in the home may suffer a range of severe and lasting effects related to physical, emotional and social development,” the report reads.

Infants and younger children are particularly vulnerable to an increase in stress which may result in impaired brain development, emotional, behavioural and developmental problems, learning difficulties, limited social skills, violent or risky behaviour, and depression or anxiety.

According to the report, later in life children who witness violence in the home have an increased risk of substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, social isolation, and aggressive behaviour.

The report says in Durham Region, police-reported 80 domestic incidents for every 10,000 people. The number of police-reported domestic incidents with children present was 4.1 for every 10,000 people.

These numbers both escalate in priority neighbourhoods, as police reported 202 domestic incidents for every 10,000 people in these areas, two-and-a-half times more than the region as a whole.

In the five Oshawa neighbourhoods on the list, they range from 154.7 per 10,000 to 423.5 per 10,000.

The number of incidents with children present is more than double the regional average, as it is 8.3 for every 10,000 people.

Of the five Oshawa priority neighbourhoods, the number of incidents ranges from 5.3 per 10,000 to 15.5 per 10,000.

In order to improve early childhood development the region has implemented several programs, with Lakeview and Downtown Oshawa showing the most improvement.

The report notes Lakeview has improved on the EDI indicators of physical health and well-being, and emotional maturity. Mothers in Lakeview also continued breastfeeding for longer periods of time.

Downtown Oshawa showed improvement with the duration of women breastfeeding, but also improved upon five EDI indicators.

“In fact, the percentage of children vulnerable in at least one area of their developmental health dropped from 65 per cent to 35 per cent in Downtown Oshawa,” the report reads.

However, Gibb West and Central Park did not show any significant signs of improvement.

“There’s a lot of different programs and services that are going on [across Durham Region],” says Pietrusiak. “And this information in the report helps to target some of those initiatives a bit more.”