Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, many have raised significant concerns about a growing “mental health crisis” among young people. These interruptions have been dynamic not a single static adjustment, but rather an ongoing series of adjustments that varied across and within provinces and territories. For example, for mandatory mask wearing, there is some variation in the grade at which masks are required across the country (e.g., Ontario: grades 1–12 Alberta: grades 4–12), which also changes depending on location (e.g., required on buses) and on community level of risk tolerance. Mandatory mask wearing has been implemented in most schools across Canada, as has the establishment of smaller cohorts of students, although variability exists across provinces and communities depending on the level of risk. Social distancing measures have been implemented in classes and during recess and breaks, substantially decreasing the amount of time students are able to interact with their peers (and teachers). Other changes have also been made to ensure the health and safety of students. All provinces and territories have developed contingency plans as risk fluctuates in their local community. However, the provision of in-person, blended, or full-time virtual learning has also depended on the local and provincial risk levels of COVID-19 infection. In other areas, in-person attendance is the expectation with few exceptions (e.g., high risk or living with high-risk individuals). Full-time e-learning is also available to older students in some areas of the country. In some provinces and territories, parents of elementary school students have been offered the choice to have their child learn in-person or virtually, while students in secondary school have been presented with a blended learning model that includes class cohorts attending school part of the time in person and the other part virtually. For example, to contain the spread of COVID-19, changes have been made to the ways in which the curriculum is delivered in Canada. It is time the Canadian government prioritizes the mental health of children and youth in its management of the pandemic and beyond.Īlthough school closures have caused major disruptions, even when schools remained open, the experience of schooling has been fundamentally altered. In parallel, we must invest in a comprehensive population-based follow-up of Statistics Canada’s Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth so that accurate information about how the pandemic is affecting all Canadian children and youth can be obtained. This strategy should provide coordinated care across sectors in a stepped care framework and across a full continuum of mental health supports spanning promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment. Now more than ever, Canada needs a national mental health strategy that is delivered in the context in which children and youth are most easily accessible-schools. Because mental health problems early in life are associated with significant impairment across family, social, and academic domains, immediate measures are needed to mitigate the potential for long-term sequalae. Pandemic-related school closures, family stress, and trauma have led to increases in mental health problems in some children and youth, an area of health that was already in crisis well before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted these protective factors making it difficult for children and youth to adapt and thrive. Children and youth flourish in environments that are predictable, safe, and structured.
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