Updates

Most early childhood adversities are avoidable, and we know what to do to prevent them. That was the message shared by Centre Director Nicole Catherine in a keynote address at Fraser Health’s Annual Maternal-Child Health Education Day on June 17.

In her talk titled “Early Prevention and Child Health Equity,” Nicole emphasized that investing in effective, research-informed prevention leads to better outcomes for children throughout their lives. This means tackling adversities like socioeconomic disadvantage, maltreatment and mental disorders early on. She also noted the importance of strong leadership, monitoring and evaluation to ensure prevention programs remain effective over time.

The 20-minute virtual presentation, followed by a Q&A session, was designed to share new data and resources with Fraser Health staff, including findings from the Centre’s research on preventing early adversities. The 120 attendees included staff from across Fraser Health’s maternal-child health teams, including nursing, speech, audiology, dental and community health.

“We already know what works,” Nicole told the group. “The opportunity now is to act early, invest in prevention, and keep learning across childhood, so that we can close gaps for children.”

Attendees at the recent Community Health Nurses of Canada conference (CHNC 2026) got a first look at the results of a program evaluation conducted by Children’s Health Policy Centre (CHPC) researchers, with Fraser Health Authority partners.

The study explored the perspectives of mothers and public health nurses involved in Fraser Health’s Enhanced Family Visiting program, also known as EFV. EFV is an intensive nurse-home visiting program (prenatal to age 2 years) that has been adapted to better meet the needs of diverse children and families requiring enhanced services.

With Fraser Health partners, the CHPC team helped shape the study goals and interview questions to reflect priorities for the EFV program. The research team interviewed mothers enrolled in the program and surveyed EFV public health nurses and supervisors. The goal was to understand how the program is delivered and support Fraser Health in improving services for children and families. The evaluation showed positive responses to the program, along with actionable steps for refinement.

By bringing this new research to CNHC 2026, the research team aimed to help inform similar nurse-home visiting programs across Canada. The conference abstract was developed by the Fraser Health Population and Public Health team, with Centre Director Nicole Catherine and Research Associate Rosemary Lever. The team’s Fraser Health partners delivered the presentation on May 21 as part of a session on women’s health.

CHPC has submitted final reports from the EFV evaluation and co-presented the findings with Fraser Health to their Maternal-Child Health teams. The results are now being prepared for academic journal submission to reach a broader audience — given the investments in early prevention programming across British Columbia, Canada and beyond. To learn more about the EFV program evaluation, visit our Research page.

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Nicole Catherine has been appointed Director of the Children’s Health Policy Centre as of May 1, 2026. Nicole is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU and holds the Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Policy, Tier 2. She has been a member of the Centre’s senior leadership team since 2012.

Nicole leads a program of research centred on understanding how early prevention programs can support children and families who are experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and on informing public policies to better meet their needs.

Her work builds on her leadership of the BC Healthy Connections Project, a BC-wide randomized controlled trial evaluating an enhanced child health home visiting program. The program involved frequent support visits from public health nurses to expectant mothers and their children throughout pregnancy and early childhood.

Program benefits shown through the trial — including improving child mental health and language and reducing exposure to intimate partner violence by age two years — continue to inform how early prevention programs are being adapted and evaluated locally in Fraser Health Authority and province wide. Nicole is currently the lead investigator or co-investigator on multiple studies designed to help policy leaders ensure effective child health programming.

As an educator, Nicole’s teaching focuses on child wellbeing and public policy. She also collaborates closely with policymakers, public health practitioners, Indigenous scholars and community organizations to ensure that her research is used to inform better services and supports for children and families in BC and beyond.

“I’m excited to grow the Centre’s work and expand its impact in the years ahead,” says Nicole.

“The Centre plays a unique role in advancing child health equity and policy. As Director, I look forward to further strengthening our team and partnerships so that research evidence continues to support policies that help children flourish.”

We also thank Dr. Charlotte Waddell, our Founding Director, for her many contributions to child health research and policy. Charlotte will continue supporting the Centre in the role of Associate Director.

Since founding the Centre in 2007, Charlotte has played an essential role in shaping its mission and profile. With others, she secured millions of dollars in funding to grow the Centre’s work, establishing it as a unique and influential voice in child health policy research in Canada.

Charlotte co-led the BC Healthy Connections Project with Nicole and others. With the Centre team, Charlotte also led the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly project (2007–2025). This project provided systematic review evidence summarizing the best available research on children’s mental health prevention and treatment interventions for policymakers and practitioners, along with providing regular policy consultations and public talks. Charlotte also supports the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council’s long-term research project, Hishuk-ish Tsawalk, among other projects.

Nicole embodies our Centre’s focus on improving child wellbeing by producing high-quality research for informing policy and practice. As Charlotte says, “We look forward to the Centre growing and going strong under Nicole’s leadership — doing research that makes a difference in children’s lives.”

A new study reveals that thousands of kids across Canada have experienced parental incarceration — and that number is likely an underestimate.

Developed by a team of researchers from across the country, the CHIRP (Children with IncarceRated Parents) study is the first in Canada to systematically estimate the number of children impacted by parental incarceration. Nicole Catherine, Associate Director of the Children’s Health Policy Centre, was a co-investigator.

The research team identified nearly 170,000 children across five Canadian provinces who experienced parental incarceration between 2015 and 2021. They found that approximately 1 in 100 children (1.2%) per year in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan had been affected.

This study sheds light on a vulnerable population of young people made statistically invisible by a lack of data.

Parental incarceration undermines children’s rights — particularly their rights to family life and to have their best interests upheld. This underscores the need for policies that prioritize children’s best interests, including in sentencing, maintaining parent–child contact, and strengthening supports for affected children.

Parental incarceration is also considered an adverse childhood experience, and research shows that children who experience it tend to have worse mental and physical health than their peers. In order to support these children, policymakers and communities need access to valid data about them.

But prior to this study, there were no credible estimates of the number of children affected by parental incarceration in Canada.

According to the authors, this data gap has hindered “policy and program development, and public, political, and media interest” in these children.

The study stresses that even the statistics used to compile it have limitations, and the findings should be treated as minimum estimates — meaning many more children may be affected.

“While further research is needed to fully quantify the prevalence and burden of this adverse childhood experience, these minimum estimates can be used to raise awareness of the issue of parental incarceration in Canada,” the study concludes.

“Evolving evidence, including this study, is instrumental to advancing work to measure, prevent, and mitigate the harms associated with parental incarceration for children and families.”

Read the full paper to learn more.