Early Child Development in North Lower Hamilton

There is a widespread acknowledgement of the importance of early child development in a wide range of health outcomes. Socio-economic factors in the first five years of life cast a long shadow into the future in terms of health, well-being and lifelong competence.

North Lower Hamilton is considered a very poor and marginalized neighbourhood. In 2002, its performance on the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a measure of children’s readiness to learn at kindergarten entry, was near the worst in the city. By 2008, the neighbourhood was among the best in terms of healthy child development.

This project seeks to reconstruct the factors that may be responsible for this unprecedented improvement. It will investigate the influence of factors such as demographic change, reductions in ambient air pollution, service interventions and general improvements to social capital. The findings will have many lessons for the development of neighbourhood-based interventions for child development in the future.

Will Hamilton's Rapid Transit System Improve Physical Activity?

A new east-west rapid transit line is planned for Hamilton as part of the Metrolinx regional transportation strategy for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The project is slated to start in 2011 and be near completion by 2014. 

This represents an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the impact of rapid transit on patterns of routine physical activity and associated health and health service utilization outcomes for residents.

This project will examine the impact of new rapid transit service on neighbourhood walkability and the physical activity levels and body weights of affected residents. Baseline data will be collected starting in 2010. Participants will be recruited from neighbourhoods close to and away from rapid transit stations.

This will be the first study of its kind in Canada and among the first worldwide.

Code Red Rx Speaker Series

The Hamilton Spectator, in collaboration with McMaster partners Dr. Neil Johnston and Patrick DeLuca, published the results of a ground-breaking health mapping project in August 2010. Called Code Red, the project revealed an alarming disparity in life expectancy across Hamilton's neighbourhoods. Other variables, including birth weight of babies, emergency room visits, hospital-bed days, income and even voter turn-out rates confirm that the health and well-being of Hamiltonians is related to neighbourhood.

Urban neighbourhoods and community health are at the core of the research conducted through CRUNCH. In response to Code Red, CRUNCH has organized its Code Red Rx speaker series. The goal is to create opportunities for academics, policy makers, activists and the wider community to learn, share and discuss solutions. Check the Events page for details on upcoming speakers, topics, dates and locations.