Project type: DI Program Academic project
Status: Open
University of Calgary
Persons with a neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) are a vulnerable population who experience more mental health problems and poorer health outcomes relative to those without disability. For the 1 in 11 youth in Canada with NDD, a multitude of services are provided (primarily by provincial governments) to address activity limitations, improve health outcomes and facilitate full participation in society. Unfortunately, many youth and families struggle to access needed services. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities highlighted that realized access (actual use of services provided) is particularly low in Canada -- 20-30 percent utilization by those eligible. Project ACCESS: Assessing the Continuum of Care and Eligibility for Services and Supports for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and their Families aims to co-design policy recommendations to improve realized access to services for youth with NDD, by measuring realized access and describing experiences of youth and caregivers applying to services, across ministries and the life course. We have partnered with youth and family advisors to identify challenges to realized access to services. We aim to evaluate different cross-ministry priorities and mandates, inconsistent policies and a lack of data on service use provided across the continuum of care.
Project Main Contact: Jennifer Zwicker, PhD, MPP, Director, Health Policy, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology
Canada Research Chair (II) Disability Policy for Children and Youth
Linked data sets:
- Community Living BC
- Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training
- Ministry of Attorney General
- Ministry of Children and Family Development
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction
- Provincial Health Services Authority
- Statistics Canada
