PHO Rounds: The Fourth Wave: Child and Family Health and Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the global recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic begin, there is speculation that a “Fourth Wave” of poor mental health and well-being is emerging among children and families. The public health measures implemented to mitigate COVID-19 transmission, including the closure of schools and stay-at-home orders, have impacted children and families. It is important to understand how families were affected by these measures and discuss ways to support them moving forward.

This webinar focuses on Ontario-specific data from two sources: a province-wide survey that was launched by the Offord Centre for Child Studies from May to June 2020, which focused on caregiver and family functioning during COVID-19; and community and clinical data from a Collaborative Mental Health project from Sick Kids Hospital, which focused on mental health-specific outcomes. Informed by an environmental scan of 39 home visitation programs, we then discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the public health nursing workforce and home-visiting services in the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children and Nurse-Family Partnership® Programs. Qualitative data from nurses’ experiences with visiting families during the pandemic will also be shared.

The objectives of the webinar are to:
1. Summarize Ontario data on the impact of the COVID-19 public health measures on children and families’ health and well-being, with a focus on mental health.
2. Describe the effect of COVID-19 public health nursing workforce redeployment on home-visiting services in Ontario.
3. Describe how to plan for potential lockdowns and how families can be supported in the future.