Quarantots, quarankids, and quaranteens: how research can contribute to mitigating the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviours and social inequalities while achieving sustainable change.

The adoption and maintenance of healthy behaviours including age-appropriate amounts of physical activity, limited sedentary and screen time, and healthy eating are the foundations for youth development and thriving. In reviewing extant evidence, we observe that the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with marked reductions in physical activity, increased sedentary and screen time, and increased food intake and unhealthy snacking. Deleterious effects in movement behaviours appear to be more pronounced among vulnerable groups and food insecurity has become more widespread. To contribute to mitigating these impacts, we advocate for strengthened evidence-based public health. Towards this end, ongoing surveillance should be intensified and augmented with additional indicators of social inequalities. More importantly, substantial efforts must be devoted to developing, implementing, and evaluating complex interventions aimed at equitably promoting recommended 24-hour movement behaviours and healthy eating guidelines in home, childcare, school, and neighbourhood settings.

RéSUMé: L'adoption et le maintien de saines habitudes de vie telles des niveaux d'activité physique appropriés pour l'âge, des durées limitées d'activités sédentaires et de temps d'écran, de même qu'une alimentation saine, sont des piliers pour le développement et l'épanouissement des enfants et des jeunes. Après avoir recensé les écrits disponibles, nous constatons que la pandémie de COVID-19 a été associée avec une réduction marquée de l'activité physique, une augmentation de la durée des activités sédentaires et du temps d'écran et une augmentation de la consommation de nourriture et de collations sucrées. Les effets délétères sur les comportements d'activité physique semblent plus prononcés parmi les groupes vulnérables et l'insécurité alimentaire est davantage répandue. Afin de contribuer à atténuer ces impacts, nous proposons le renforcement d'une santé publique fondée sur les données probantes. Nous recommandons une intensification et une bonification des activités de surveillance par l'ajout de nouveaux indicateurs pour mesurer les inégalités sociales de santé. De plus, des efforts considérables doivent être investis dans le développement, l'implantation et l'évaluation d'interventions complexes visant à promouvoir équitablement les directives canadiennes relatives au mouvement sur 24 heures et les saines habitudes alimentaires dans les familles, milieux de garde, écoles et quartiers résidentiels.

Does Place Matter? An International Comparison of Early Childhood Development Outcomes between the Metropolitan Areas of Melbourne, Australia and Montreal, Canada.

There is strong consensus about the importance of early childhood development (ECD) for improving population health and closing the health inequity gap. Environmental features and public policies across sectors and jurisdictions are known to influence ECD. International comparisons provide valuable opportunities to better understand the impact of these ecological determinants on ECD. This study compared ECD outcomes between metropolitan Melbourne (Australia) and Montreal (Canada), and contrasted disparities across demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: Population wide surveys using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) were conducted among 4-6 years-old children in both Montreal and Melbourne in 2012, measuring five domains of ECD: 1-Physical Health/Well-Being (PHYS); 2-Social Competence (SOC); 3-Emotional Maturity (EMOT); 4-Language/Cognitive Development (COGN); and 5-Communication Skills/General Knowledge (COMM). Descriptive analyses of summary EDI indicators and domain indicators (including median scores and interquartile ranges) were compared between metropolitan areas, using their respective 95% confident intervals (CIs). Analyses were performed using Stata software (v14). Results: The proportion of children developmentally vulnerable in at least one domain of ECD was 26.8% (95% CIs: 26.2, 27.3) in Montreal vs. 19.2% (95% CIs: 18.8, 19.5) in Melbourne. The Melbourne advantage was greatest for EMOT and COGN (11.5% vs. 6.9%; 13.0% vs. 5.8%). In both Montreal and Melbourne, boys, immigrants, children not speaking the language of the majority at home, and those living in the most deprived areas were at greater risk of being developmentally vulnerable. Relative risks as a function of home language and area-level deprivation subgroups were smaller in Montreal than in Melbourne. Conclusion: This study shows that Melbourne's children globally experience better ECD outcomes than Montreal's children, but that inequity gaps are greater in Melbourne for language and area-level deprivation subgroups. Further research is warranted to identify the environmental factors, policies, and programs that account for these observed differences.