This study is part of the MAP/St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation COVID-19 Catalyst Fund, launched to advance our most urgent priority projects. Learn more
How does COVID-19 spread among children and within families — across socioeconomic gradients?
COVID-19 infections are spreading among children and their parents in Canada, but no Canadian studies have yet evaluated to what extent this is happening, and how best to limit spread within the home.
Using TARGet Kids!, Canada’s largest ongoing study of children, this project will detect COVID-19 infections, identify COVID-19 risk factors, and monitor outcomes on child and parent mental health and family functioning.
During the pandemic, parents of young children (0-10 years old) enrolled in TARGet Kids! will be asked to provide a weekly nasal swab from themselves and their child, submit a weekly symptom checklist, and complete online questionnaires related to their family’s health. We will also track participants’ health-care use through health-services utilization data. More than 1,000 children will be followed through the study, over the next six months and long term.
This will be the first and largest study worldwide to investigate COVID-19 transmission and its socioeconomic context and effects among children and families.
The Outcome
Evidence from this project will help interrupt unrecognized chains of transmission, calibrate policies, and develop targeted public health efforts to protect children and families from COVID-19 and its consequences.
