Bio

Bio

Dr. Kathy Georgiades is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, and an Associate Member of the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. She holds the endowed David R. (Dan) Offord Chair in Child Studies and is a core member of the Offord Centre for Child Studies. Dr. Georgiades’ integrated program of research, mentorship and collaboration seeks to improve child and youth mental health at the population level and reduce inequities in access to effective mental health care.

To achieve these goals, Dr. Georgiades designs and implements epidemiologic studies of child and youth mental health and access to care among the general population and among underserved population sub-groups, including immigrants, refugees, racial and ethnic minoritized children and youth, as well as those living in socio-economically disadvantaged communities. These studies generate evidence designed to address fundamental questions related to population prevalence, incidence and determinants of child and youth mental disorders and access to mental health care.

Current Focus Areas

Current Focus Areas

• Using the longitudinal Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth to address epidemiological questions relating to Autistic children and youth in Canada.

Career Highlights

Career Highlights

• Research from the 2019 CHSCY, conducted by a former post-doctoral fellow Dr. Yun-Ju Chen, examined diagnosis patterns of coexisting mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions in Autistic children and youth. There were nuanced variations in the timing of initial diagnoses of coexisting conditions based on the age of autism diagnosis. Sex-varying patterns highlighted the importance of monitoring and evaluating the neurodevelopmental and mental health needs of Autistic children and youth, with supports tailored to sex and the timing of autism diagnosis. (https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70039)