Looking to the future, we see increasing demand in a complex system of care for children and youth. Around 20 per cent of Ontario’s population is 18 or younger, and that’s expected to grow by almost 900,000 children and youth over the next two decades.
Children and youth who face injury, illness or disability – and their families – rely on a complex network of care hospitals, home and school environments, as well as publicly funded and unfunded community services.
These facts, coupled with the growing fiscal and demographic pressures on the health-care system, highlight the importance of focusing on the health care needs of children and youth — both current and future.