Dr. Tom Barry, the outgoing medical chief of staff with the Horizon Health Network, said the province's medical community is seeing a major increase in cases of youth anxiety and depression, what he views as an incoming public health crisis specifically impacting New Brunswick youth. Barry believes a rapidly-increasing prevalence of anxiety and depression in youth is being fuelled by an over-reliance on digital media, including video games, social media and electronic devices. Annette Harland, who helps oversee the delivery of the provincial government’s Integrated Service Delivery [ISD] program in the Charlotte County area, said the epidemic is something officials from all of the involved departments have been noticing. Collaboration and resource-sharing between the provincial Departments of Health, Social Development and Education and Early Childhood Development means the province is better equipped to deal with something on this scale now than ever before, Harland believes. She adds that ISD is looking to provide earlier intervention programming aimed at helping parents make the right choices for their children in the digital age and help kids develop healthy coping skills around these new realities.
NBHC Population Health