Report
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.
Other Reports by this Activity
Displaying: 2 of 2 Reports
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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
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Challenges and Successes in Reducing Health Disparities. Workshop Summary
In early 2007, the Institute of Medicine convened the Roundtable on Health Disparities to increase the visibility of racial and ethnic health disparities as a national problem, to further the development of programs and strategies to reduce disparities, to foster the emergence of leadership on this issue, and to track promising activities and developments in health care that could lead to dramatically reducing or eliminating disparities
Released: June 17, 2008
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