Examining the social determinants of children's developmental health: protocol for building a pan-Canadian population-based monitoring system for early childhood development

Abstract

IntroductionEarly childhood is a key period to establish policies and practices that optimise children's health and development, but Canada lacks nationally representative data on social indicators of children's well-being. To address this gap, the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a teacher-administered questionnaire completed for kindergarten-age children, has been implemented across most Canadian provinces over the past 10 years. The purpose of this protocol is to describe the Canadian Neighbourhoods and Early Child Development (CanNECD) Study, the aims of which are to create a pan-Canadian EDI database to monitor trends over time in children's developmental health and to advance research examining the social determinants of health.Methods and analysisCanada-wide EDI records from 2004 to 2014 (representing over 700 000 children) will be linked to Canada Census and Income Taxfiler data. Variables of socioeconomic status derived from these databases will be used to predict neighbourhood-level EDI vulnerability rates by conducting a series of regression analyses and latent variable models at provincial/territorial and national levels. Where data are available, we will measure the neighbourhood-level change in developmental vulnerability rates over time and model the socioeconomic factors associated with those trends.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval for this study was granted by the Behavioural Research Ethics Board at the University of British Columbia. Study findings will be disseminated to key partners, including provincial and federal ministries, schools and school districts, collaborative community groups and the early childhood development research community. The database created as part of this longitudinal population-level monitoring system will allow researchers to associate practices, programmes and policies at school and community levels with trends in developmental health outcomes. The CanNECD Study will guide future early childhood development action and policies, using the database as a tool for formative programme and policy evaluation.

Behavior profiles of children with autism spectrum disorder in kindergarten: Comparison with other developmental disabilities and typically developing children

“…The EDI has demonstrated validity and reliability, and is currently in wide use across Canada [Janus & Offord, ; Janus et al, ]. The psychometric properties and validity of the EDI have been confirmed in many studies, based on its differential item functioning, multilevel validity, factor structure, internal consistencies, as well as associations with other developmental outcomes [Guhn et al, ; Janus & Offord, ; Janus et al, ]. By 2016, EDI data had been collected on over 1 million kindergarten students across Canada, and several provincial governments had implemented provincially funded regular EDI data collection for all senior kindergarten (SK) students [Janus & Reid‐Westoby, ; Janus et al, ].…”

Validation of the Early Development Instrument for children with special health needs

“…In showing this, we pave the way for a more extensive use of the EDI data for research and policy evaluation in this important, yet often neglected, population. 24 While the lack of specific diagnosis data is a limitation of our study, complete diagnostic information is rarely available at such a young age. Due to the small numbers of children with any given diagnosis, education systems cannot respond with interventions tailored to specific conditions.…”

“…Our study set out to demonstrate that the EDI's psychometric properties for kindergarten children with special health needs are as robust as those for their typically developing counterparts. In showing this, we pave the way for a more extensive use of the EDI data for research and policy evaluation in this important, yet often neglected, population …”

Immigrant and ethnic neighbourhood concentration and reduced child developmental vulnerability

“…This research is a part of the Canadian Neighbourhoods and Early Child Development (CanNECD) study [25]. Data were obtained from the Early Development Instrument (EDI) database housed at the Offord Centre for Child Studies, Mc-Master University [26].…”