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We have spent 15 months talking anecdotally about the impacts of the pandemic on our mental health, specifically about the impacts on our youth.
The fact is the collection of this information has been lacking pre-pandemic and has taken extra efforts among different groups to really get a picture, at least nationally, of what is happening.
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Children’s Healthcare Canada went to 14 different children’s hospitals throughout the country to see just what these frontline resources were experiencing.
TORONTO Social isolation, school closures, and restricted access to sports and recreational activities have all taken their toll on children s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Children s Healthcare Canada, there has been a 200 per cent increase in hospital admissions for substance use disorders and a 100 per cent increase in suicide attempt admissions compared to the year before. Canada s Children s Hospital Foundations has reported that 70 per cent of those between the ages of six and 18 said the pandemic has harmed their mental health in at least one area, such as anxiety or attention span. When kids are confined at home for weeks, sometimes months on end, cut off from their peers, cut off from physical activity, they re going to languish, Sara Austin, the CEO of Children First Canada, a national charity that advocates for the well-being of children, told CTV s Your Morning on Thursday.
Canadian officials declare Code Pink kamloopsbcnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kamloopsbcnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Canadian children face an ongoing mental health crisis during COVID-19.
The harm to children is such that a new campaign called #CodePink is underway to get governments to act immediately.
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Code Pink is the term used to declare a pediatric emergency exactly the current state of affairs in this country, with children’s hospitals reporting a 100% increase in suicide attempt admissions, a 200% jump in substance abuse disorder admissions, and a sharp rise in rates of child abuse. There also has been a disturbing increase in cases of infants with fractures and head trauma, for example, since September 2020.
OTTAWA Canada s top children s hospitals, including CHEO, are declaring a mental health emergency among children and youth as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on. School closures, the lack of access to sports and recreational programs, and social isolation have resulted in children being one of the hardest hit populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, a release said. Advocates describe what they call staggering numbers of increases to suicide attempts and substance-use disorder admissions. Suicide attempt admissions have increased by 100 per cent on average during the pandemic, the release says. Admissions for substance-use disorders have increased by 200 per cent. It goes on to say that 70 per cent of children ages 6 to 18 have said the pandemic has harmed their mental health.