Child Health Equity

Child health equity definition

• when all children have fair opportunity to thrive, to be healthy, and to receive quality care

• the absence of unfair and unjust avoidable differences in health among groups or areas

Affects of social determinants of health in children

• up to 80% variation in health outcomes are due to social determinants of health

• children are particularly sensitive to social determinants of health

Potential threats in child health

• avoidable childhood adversities can contrivute to lifelong health problems

• family socioeconomic disadvantage

• racism and colonialism

• child maltreatment

Family stress and difficulties 

• early prevention 

  • enhanced family health programs (nurse family partnership program, NFP)

  • aims to support young, first time mothers coping with disadvantage to prevent childhood adversities

  • up to 64 public health nurse visits over 2.5 years

BC Healthy Connections Project 

evaluation led by the childrens health policy centre, SFU with McMaster and other universities 

• supported by reciprocal and sustained research policy practice collaborations for 11 years+

Eligibilty criteria for BC Healthy connections project (NFP) 

ensure ease of screening by publuc health nurses and reach and inclusion of equity deserving families who could benefit most from NFP