Report

Focusing on Children’s Health: Community Approaches to Addressing Health Disparities. Workshop Summary

Released:: September 2, 2009
Type:: Workshop Summary
Topics:: Select Populations and Health Disparities, Children, Youth and Families
Activity:: Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities
Boards:: Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Board on Children, Youth, and Families

Note: Workshop Summaries contain the opinion of the presenters, but do NOT reflect the conclusions of the IOM. Learn more about the differences between Workshop Summaries and Consensus Reports.

Socioeconomic conditions are known to have profound and long-term effects on health at all stages of life, from pregnancy through childhood and adulthood. In addition to the positive or negative effects of one’s present socioeconomic condition, studies have shown an association between early-life socioeconomic conditions and adult health-related behaviors, morbidity, and mortality. Sensitive and critical periods of development, such as the prenatal period and early childhood, present significant opportunities to influence lifelong health. Yet simply intervening in the health care system is insufficient to influence health outcomes early in life.

On January 24, 2008, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Roundtable on Health Disparities and the IOM/National Research Council's Board on Children, Youth, and Families co-hosted a public workshop to discuss the important foundations of adult health that are laid prenatally and in early childhood. As those who study the health care system and those who study social determinants of health do not have many opportunities to interact with one another, the workshop, “Investing in Children’s Health: A Community Approach to Addressing Health Disparities,” was designed to continue to advance the dialogue about health disparities by facilitating discussion among stakeholders in the community, academia, health care, business, policy, and philanthropy.

Reports of Interest

The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce: Challenges and... Released: November 15, 2011
Improving Health Literacy Within a State - Workshop Summary Released: November 14, 2011
Promoting Health Literacy to Encourage Prevention and Wellness - Workshop... Released: November 1, 2011

Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and... Released: October 31, 2011
Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Evaluating... Released: October 11, 2011
Updating the USDA National Breastfeeding Campaign - Workshop Summary Released: September 21, 2011

Preventing Violence Against Women and Children - Workshop Summary Released: September 15, 2011
State and Local Policy Initiatives To Reduce Health Disparities - Workshop ... Released: September 13, 2011
Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality Released: August 25, 2011

back

Other Reports by this Activity

Displaying: 3 of 4 Reports

State and Local Policy Initiatives To Reduce Health Disparities - Workshop Summary While state and local policy efforts to reduce health disparities often go unnoticed, some regions have seen real progress in this area. In order to see comparable progress at the national level, it is helpful to identify what has worked at other levels of government. On May 11, 2009, the IOM held a public workshop to discuss the role of state and local policy initiatives to reduce health disparities. The workshop brought together stakeholders to learn more about what works in reducing health disparities and ways to focus on localized efforts when working to reduce health disparities.
Released: September 13, 2011
Demographic Changes, A View from California: Implications for Framing Health Disparities - Workshop Summary The IOM held a workshop on July 28, 2008, to examine strategies for discussing health disparities in ways that engage the public and motivate change. Speakers focused on health disparities in California, which continues to see dramatic demographic shifts.
Released: June 28, 2010
Toward Health Equity and Patient-Centeredness: Integrating Health Literacy, Disparities Reduction, and Quality Improvement. Workshop Summary During a time of economic uncertainty, the national discussion of health reform understandably focuses on insurance coverage and cost. To receive the greatest value for health care, it is important to focus on issues of quality and disparity, and the ability of individuals to make appropriate decisions based on basic health knowledge and services, or health literacy. Three IOM bodies (the Forum on the Science of Health Care Quality Improvement and Implementation, the Roundtable on Health Disparities, and the Roundtable on Health Literacy) jointly convened a workshop to discuss these concerns.
Released: February 23, 2009