Michael Boyle and McMaster Children Hospital McMaster University

Ontario Child Health Study: Families can't volunteer because it must be a random sample from across the province, according to The Waterloo Record. So far, it estimated 65 per cent of the families chosen will agree to take part. Michael Boyle, who is leading the research at the Offord Centre for Child Studies affiliated with McMaster Children Hospital and McMaster University. "We need a high and even response rate." Statistics Canada randomly selected 13,500 families with children to take part in the Ontario Child Health Study and started contacting them in October. Boyle says that far too low, especially when compared to more than 90 per cent in the original study just over 30 years ago which put Hamilton at the forefront of children mental health research. "We knew it was going to be a tough sell but we feel it important," said Boyle, the Canada Research Chair in the Social Determinants of Child Health and director of the centre. "The information on child and youth mental health is out of date." The original study done in 1983, with updates in 1987 and 1999, remains the dominant data used to help determine health policy and funding. The research contributed to $3 billion in funding for provincial and federal programs and services, including the creation of Ontario Early Years Centres. Its shocking findings were that one in five children have a mental health issue and most go untreated. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.