Co-Director Astrid Guttmann shares insights from the UK Academy of Medical Sciences Meeting
In early March, Dr. Astrid Guttmann, Co-Director of the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children, attended the UK Academy of Medical Sciences meeting on child health equity. She was joined by Francine Buchanan, Senior Manager of Patient, Family & Community Engagement at the Hospital for Sick Children, along with Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn and Gwendolyn Moncrieff-Gould from the Child Health Policy Accelerator. The event brought together international researchers, policymakers and members of the public to explore how child health, wellbeing, and policy can be shaped amid the changing social and political landscape.
Following the meeting, our Knowledge Mobilization Specialist, Priscilla Medeiros, sat down Astrid to reflect on key takeaways, international collaborations, and the evolving role of research in shaping policy for healthier futures. Read the full interview below to learn more about her experience at the meeting.
Q: You recently attended the UK Academy of Medical Sciences meeting, which brought together over 40 experts from high-income countries including: UK, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, US and Canada, to discuss child health, wellbeing, and policy influence in changing social and political environments. Can you share a bit about your experience at the two-day event?
Absolutely. This was the second meeting of its kind – the first, held a year ago, focused on developing and endorsing a report on widening child health inequities in Great Britain, along with an in-depth evidence review of relevant policies and programs. That initial meeting really highlighted the value of bringing together international experts to discuss both shared and unique challenges in child health. The published report has garnered some attention among policymakers in the UK, though it's still early to understand its full impact.
The second meeting revisited the state of children’s health and policy priorities in various high-income countries with specific consideration of topic areas, such as the impact of social media on youth and legislation on online harms, migrant and refugee health, nutrition and food policy, and examples of cases studies and approached to policy impact. The event included individuals with lived experience, such as parents of children with health challenges, members of migrant families, and representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations.
These meetings spark collaborations and offer a broader understanding of how governments approach investment in children’s health. The policy-focused sessions, especially around social media regulation, created a strong sense that there is potential for a number of countries to align on common legislative goals.
Q: You delivered two presentations at the meeting. What were they about and what key information or messages did you share?
The first presentation provided an overview of the current state of child health and child health inequities in Canada. It was an updated version of a similar talk I gave at last year’s meeting, with a focus on key federal policies influencing child wellbeing. I highlighted programs such as the Canada Child Benefit, the national daycare initiative, and a new federal commitment to transfer funds to provinces to support and expand school lunch programs.
I also spoke briefly about the broader social and political context in Canada. This included the potential for a change in government in the near future, which could shift federal priorities, as well as ongoing economic pressures linked to global events – like increased tariffs and the rising demand for military spending. The aim was to give people a clear snapshot of where Canada currently stands in terms of child health policy, and how shifting political and economic factors could influence future progress.
The second presentation was part of the migrant health session, where I spoke about Canada’s private sponsorship of a refugee program. I gave an overview of how the program works, its key features, and highlighted some of the evaluations that have been done by both our research group and others.
Our team has conducted several projects on resettled refugees and private sponsorship, supported by a long-standing CIHR grant and resulting in multiple publications. I also touched on existing government evaluations and other literature on the program, although the body of research is still somewhat limited.
Q: What kind of feedback or questions did you receive? Were there any discussions that stood out?
There were a lot of meaningful discussions throughout the meeting. One of the key themes that stood out was the shared concern across countries about the future of investments in children, especially in the face of economic pressures and tight government budgets. Topics like the rising cost of living, housing challenges, immigration policies, and the opioid crisis came up as major issues that resonated with others in attendance.
At the same time, the discussions also highlighted important differences between countries. For example, while many nations are grappling with increasing rates of childhood obesity, this isn’t a major issue in Japan, where the focus is more on declining birth rates. Mental health challenges among children and youth were another area of concern, but again, the extent and focus varied by country. For some countries, like Canada and Australia, child health inequities are disproportionally borne by Indigenous Peoples who have suffered longstanding and continued discrimination and multigenerational trauma.
The discussions reflected both common global challenges and country-specific contexts. There was a strong sense of solidarity around the threats to children's health at a macro level, with attendees exchanging insights and approaches based on their unique systems and experiences.
Q: How did the meeting discussions connect with the work we do at the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children?
The discussions at the meeting were highly relevant to the mission of the Centre, which is uniquely focused on catalyzing research aimed at reducing childhood inequities. While there are others working in this space, we are one of the few groups with a dedicated centre and resources to serve this goal.
A key theme from the meeting was the importance of translating research into real-world practice and policy, which is also an area where the Centre will continue to grow. The launch of the Child Health Policy Accelerator at the Hospital for Sick Children under the leadership of Charlotte Moore Hepburn to support this kind of translational work is quite rare within academic and clinical institutions, and it prompted reflection on how our Centre can further align and strengthen our efforts in this direction.
Q: Several collaborators, including former Leong Scholar Julia Brandenberger, and International Scientific Advisory Committee members Ruth Gilbert and Sharon Goldfeld were also in attendance at the meeting. What collaborative discussions did you have about fostering research partnerships with them and others?
It was wonderful to reconnect with so many collaborators, including Julia Brandenberger, a former Leong Scholar who is now in a faculty position at the University of Bern and leading important work on migrant children's health and with a group she formed through the European Academy of Pediatrics. Hearing about the work she’s continued was inspiring and reinforced the value of building strong, long-term relationships in this small but vital field of child health equity research.
We’re fortunate to already have strong partnerships in place. SickKids has long-standing collaborations with Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London, Melbourne Children’s, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. These partnerships are continuing to grow. For example, there are already earmarked funds at Great Ormond Street to support PhD students working between the University of Toronto and SickKids. Ruth Gilbert, Ruth Blackburn, and I currently co-supervise a PhD student, and Sharon Goldfeld has included both University College London and the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children in a successful grant on children’s mental health.
There’s also growing interest from others, such as Naho Morisaki from the University of Tokyo School of Medicine, who is keen to join our research network. These meetings are important for building and sustaining these collaborations.