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HELP faculty and affiliates share insights and recommendations for better learning environments, access to mental health care

As we continue to learn more about the impacts of the pandemic — along with the effects of other persistent socio-economic stressors — understanding and addressing the increasing mental health issues facing young populations requires innovation in research, policy and practice. Throughout the pandemic, HELP faculty and affiliates have been prioritizing research collaborations that do just that. The resulting evidence illustrates how the health and well-being of children and youth can be promoted during this particularly challenging time. This includes centering the needs of systemically marginalized populations in mental health systems planning and creating tools and resources for educators facing barriers to implementing outdoor play curricula. 

To share these research insights with the public, several HELP faculty and affiliates have recently authored articles for The Conversation, a daily independent online publication that delivers analysis and explanatory journalism from the academic and research community directly to the public: 

Addressing childhood anxiety as early as kindergarten could reduce its harmful impacts

Authors: Magdalena Janus, Caroline Reid-Westoby

Anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental disorders in children and youth. Researchers from the Offord Centre for Child Studies, including HELP Faculty Magdalena Janus, undertook a population-wide study of kindergarten-age children attending public schools across Canada between 2004 and 2015. This study provided the first Canada-wide snapshot of anxiety symptoms among children entering school. Read more.


Building back equitably: 4 ways to address mental health inequities magnified by the pandemic, and ensure access to care

Authors: Hasina Samji, Travis Salway, Emily Jenkins, Pierre-julien Coulaud

COVID-19 restrictions that limited social connections and access to services have had profound effects on our collective mental health. Statistics are essential for monitoring improvements, or lack thereof, during the process of recovery from the past two years of cumulative stress, but often overlook the systemic inequities that influence them. Understanding how to build back equitably after the pandemic requires gathering the appropriate data and being responsive to the groups who were hardest hit by pandemic-related distress. Read more.


6 actions school systems can take to support children’s outdoor learning

Authors: Eva Oberle, Mariana Brussoni, Megan Zeni

COVID-19 restrictions that limited social connections and access to services have had profound effects on our collective mental health. Statistics are essential for monitoring improvements, or lack thereof, during the process of recovery from the past two years of cumulative stress, but often overlook the systemic inequities that influence them. Understanding how to build back equitably after the pandemic requires gathering the appropriate data and being responsive to the groups who were hardest hit by pandemic-related distress. Read more.


The above story is the first research update on the new HELP website. If you would like to be notified of future updates and stories from HELP, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.