REACH School Network

Research Equity Advocacy in Child Health

The REACH School Network (also known as The Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative within the Toronto District School Board) is an innovative health care delivery model at Unity Health Toronto which provides health care to at-risk children through school-based health centers.

By offering highly accessible mental health and developmental health services to children with social risk factors, the REACH School Network aims to diagnose and treat a range of mental health and developmental disorders in early childhood.

Early diagnosis and treatment of mental health and development disorders has been shown to improve mental health and quality of life outcomes as well as reduce subsequent emergency department use and acute-care health care needs. [1-4]

Early treatment of mental health and development needs leads to improved school attendance and performance outcomes.

Improved school attendance has been shown to correlate with improved academic achievement and long term outcomes including: [5]

1) significantly improved long-term health
2) control of chronic illness
3) higher income
4) less involvement with the criminal justice system
5) improved life expectancy

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Meet our team of committed medical professionals, researchers, and scientists.

Find valuable information and helpful links to learn more.

Read more about the programs offered through the REACH School Network (also called the Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative).

Publications on the REACH School Network (also called Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative (MSPHI)) and related topics. 

Read news articles on The REACH School Network (also called Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative MSPHI) and related topics.

Read more about the research projects the REACH School Network (also called the Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative) is currently working on.

References

  1. Van der Schuit M, Segers E, Balkom H, Verhoeven L. 2011.  Early language intervention for children with intellectual disabilities: A neurocognitive perspective. Research in Developmental Disabilities 32[2]:705-12 DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.11.010

  2. Dawson G, Jones E, Merkle K, Venema K, Lowy R, Faja S, et al. 2008 Early Behavioral Intervention Is Associated With Normalized Brain Activity in Young Children With Autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012 Nov; 51[11]: 1150–1159. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2012.08.018

  3. Sonuga-Barke, E., Koerting, J., Smith, E., McCann, D., & Thompson, M. (2011). Early detection and intervention for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Expert Reviews in Neurotherapeutics, 11, 557– 563

  4. Sayal K, Owen V, White K, Merrell C, Tymms P & Taylor E. Impact of Early School-Based Screening and Intervention Programs for ADHD on Children's Outcomes and Access to Services. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164[5]. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.40

  5. Wu YT, Daskalopoulou C, Terrera G, Niubo A Rodriguez Artalejo F, Ayuso-Mateos JL et al.  Education and wealth inequalities in healthy ageing in eight harmonised cohorts in the ATHLOS consortium: a population-based study. The Lancet 2020;5 386-394