Dr. Magdalena Janus (McMaster University)

Title: Fostering discovery or building evidence: Studying early child development at the population level

This presentation will briefly address the state of knowledge about influences on child development and school achievement at the end of the last century, mostly based on studies from countries other than Canada. That knowledge, coupled with increased understanding of social determinants of health and need for universal interventions, led to a project aiming at population-based measurement of children’s developmental status. Somewhat utilitarian in nature, and meant to build evidence for action, the project is fulfilling the intended goal, and begins to give an opportunity for fostering discoveries – many of which still wait to be made.