Child Health

Childhood is a time of critical biological, social, and emotional development. The early childhood years (ages 1 to 4) are especially crucial, as they are the time of a child's greatest growth and development and can have a tremendous impact on future health outcomes. The school-age years (5 to 9) are also significant in that we are provided with a unique opportunity to reach almost all children within the institution of school. Statistically, childhood is the healthiest period of our lives, yet children remain the most vulnerable citizens of our society. They experience the lowest mortality rate of all ages, yet injury is the #1 cause of death for children over six months. Poverty is the single greatest indicator of health status for young children, and rates of poverty among children and families in the United States are the highest among the industrialized nations. Other issues of significance for the health of children include health care access, mental health services, obesity prevention, stable/safe housing, and high-quality education.

Over half of the "Healthy People 2010" goals are related to children's health, which represents a national commitment to this population. The goals address various issues such as oral health , immunizations, asthma, mental health, developmental screening, obesity/physical activity , lead prevention , child maltreatment , injury prevention, and school health. For an overview of the various focus areas covered in HP 2010, see the Healthy People 2010 Information Access Project .

Programming

There are numerous programs promoting children's health, both nationally and here in Minnesota :

Asthma

•  Medline Plus: Asthma in Children

Autism

•  Autism Speaks

•  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Autism Information Center

Developmental Screening

•  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Developmental Screening

•  Child & Teen Check-Ups

•  Developmental Screening Toolkit

•  Minnesota Department of Health: Family Home Visiting

Early Childhood Education

•  Department of Health & Human Services: Office of Head Start

•  National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center

•  National Resource Center for Health & Safety in Child Care & Early Education

Environmental Health

•  Children's Environmental Health Network

•  Institute for Children's Environmental Health

•  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Children's Health Protection

•  World Health International: Children's Environmental Health

Health Insurance

•  Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality: Child Health Insurance Research Initiative

•  State Children's Health Insurance Program

Immunizations

•  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Infants & Toddlers

•  Medline Plus: Childhood Immunizations

Injury Prevention

Lead Prevention

Mental Health

• National Mental Health Information Center: Child & Adolescent Mental Health

Nutrition

Obesity Prevention/Physical Activity

Oral Health

Poverty

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: Coordinated School Health

• Stop Bullying Now!

International Programming

• World Health International: Child & Adolescent Health & Development

Policy

Recently, the most widely publicized policy issue affecting children's health has been the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), legislation that calls for an expansion of health care coverage to the millions of uninsured children across the country. State programs are matched by billions of federal dollars, and states are given the discretion to determine eligibility and benefits. Other important policy issues that have been given increased attention in the past few years include children's mental promotion, prevention, and treatment and investment in early childhood education. In order to improve children's health outcomes across the board, ending childhood poverty continues to be an area that demands the public's attention. The Children's Defense Fund offers a comprehensive resource of policy initiatives related to childhood poverty, access to healthcare, and early childhood development, among other priorities.

Emerging Issues in Research

The University of Minnesota has been selected as a study center in what will likely be one of the most important advances in the understanding and improvement of children's health in the U.S. , the National Children's Study . Ramsey County will be one of 105 study locations across the country that will follow 100,000 children from before birth to 21 years of age to examine environmental influences on their health and development. Principal investigators, Wendy Hellerstedt and Pat McGovern , will be joined by dozens of School of Public Health faculty and professionals from Ramsey County , as well as community representatives.

Legacy for Children, an initiative of the CDC, seeks to improve child development through a set of longitudinal, randomized, controlled studies that examine the role of parenting programs to “promote self-efficacy and a sense of community.”

Other important data sources focused on child health outcomes:

•  ChildStats.gov

•  Child Trends Data Bank

•  KIDS COUNT

•  National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect

•  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

•  National Health Interview Survey – Child Health Supplement

•  National Survey of Children's Health

University of Minnesota Involvement

 Faculty :

•  Amos Deinard, MD, MPH : children's oral health

•  John Himes, PhD, MPH : child growth and nutrition

•  Leslie Lytle, PhD, RD : eating behavior change interventions in children, obesity prevention

•  Luanne Nyberg, MPH : child health advocacy

•  Charles Oberg, MD, MPH : childhood poverty

•  Joan Patterson, PhD : prevention of mental health problems in children, family health promotion

•  Julie Ross, PhD, MPH : childhood cancer

•  Jamie Stang, PhD, MPH, RD : child and adolescent nutrition, behavioral counseling in child obesity

•  Mary Story, PhD, RD : child and adolescent nutrition, obesity prevention in children and adolescents

Courses :

•  Advocacy & Children's Rights

•  Children's Health: Issues, Policies & Programs

•  Child & Adolescent Nutrition

•  Families & Health

•  Assessment, Prevention and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Obesity.

Healthy Generations :

•  Child Abuse, May 2001

•  Child and Adolescent Physical Inactivity, September 2002

•  Childhood Obesity and Nutrition, September 2000

•  Childhood Poverty, May 2003

•  Children's Environmental Health, February 2004

•  Early Childhood, October 2003

•  Oral Health, October 2006

•  School Environment and Health, June 2005

University Resources :

•  Center for Excellence in Children's Mental Health

•  Healthy Eating Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity

•  National Children's Study

•  Obesity Prevention Center