A life course approach. A person’s physical and mental health and wellbeing are influenced throughout life by the wider determinants of health. These are a diverse range of social, economic and environmental factors, alongside behavioural risk factors which often cluster in the population, reflecting real lives.
Life course approaches to health disparities leverage theories that explain how socially patterned physical, environmental, and socioeconomic exposures at different stages of human development shape health within and across generations and can therefore offer substantial insight into the etiology of health disparities.
In: Handbook of Life Course Health Development [Internet]. Cham (CH): Springer; 2018. 2017 Nov 21. 1 Department of Pediatrics, ETSU College of Medicine, PO Box 70578, Johnson City, TN, 37614, USA
Alongside local government, the NHS also plays a vital role in the life course approach, particularly through service provision and their role in prevention.
Call to actionBuilding healthy and resilient communities.Adopting a place-based approach to health.Tackling housing and fuel poverty.Taking action on poverty and health.Taking action on health and justice.
Abstract The life-course approach takes a temporal and societal perspective on the health and well-being of individuals and generations, recognizing that all stages of a person's life are intricately intertwined with each other, with the lives of others born in the same period, and with the lives of past and future ...
The life course refers to the social phases we progress through, throughout our lives. Traditionally, these were seen as quite fixed, especially for women (who would be expected to be dependent on their parents until being married, at which point they would be dependent on their husbands and bear and rear children).
The life course approach emphasizes that the health of one age group should not be considered in isolation from that of others, and raises broad social and environmental, as well as medical, considerations.
What are the important stages of socialization?The First Stage- The Oral Stage.The Second State-The Anal Stage.The Third Stage-The Oedipal Stage.The Fourth Stage-The Stage of Adolescence:
Life course theory has five distinct principles: (a) time and place; (b) life-span development; (c) timing; (d) agency; and (e) linked lives. We used these principles to examine and explain high-risk pregnancy, its premature conclusion, and subsequent mothering of medically fragile preterm infants.
A person's physical and mental health and wellbeing are influenced throughout life by the wider determinants of health. These are a diverse range of social, economic and environmental factors, alongside behavioural risk factors which often cluster in the population, reflecting real lives.
The Life Course Theory looks at health as an integrated continuum where biological, behavioral, psychological, social and environmental factors interact to shape health outcomes across the course of a person's life.
Examples include: an individual who gets married at the age of 20 is more likely to have a relatively early transition of having a baby, raising a baby and sending a child away when a child is fully grown up in comparison to his/her age group.
Charting the LifeCourse is a framework that was developed to help individuals and families of all abilities and at any age or stage of life develop a vision for a good life, think about what they need to know and do, identify how to find or develop supports, and discover what it takes to live the lives they want to ...
Three types of time are central to a life course perspective: individual time, generational time, and historical time (Price, McKenry, and Murphy 2000).
Several fundamental principles characterize the life course approach. They include: (1) socio-historical and geographical location; (2) timing of lives; (3) heterogeneity or variability; (4) "linked lives" and social ties to others; (5) human agency and personal control; and (6) how the past shapes the future.
A person’s physical and mental health and wellbeing are influenced throughout life by the wider determinants of health, which are a diverse range of social, economic and environmental factors, alongside behavioural risk factors which often cluster in the population, reflecting real lives.
Systematic variation in the protective and risk factors of health are social inequalities. These are strong and persistent drivers of health inequalities, leading to differing trajectories and outcomes over the course of a person’s life. This can influence life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
To achieve the desired outcomes of the life course approach, national policies should be translated into local actions. With local government services facing increasing demand and a challenging financial situation, it is important to note that the life course approach does not demand new or extra actions that would incur additional costs.
This edition of Health Matters sets out recommended interventions across the life course selected by PHE for local government, the NHS and commissioners. These are interventions that address a range of public health challenges, from vaccination to supporting mental health and emotional wellbeing, under the following stages of the life course:
Now is the time to prioritise prevention of ill health.
A life course approach values the health and wellbeing of both current and future generations. It recognises that: there are a wide range of protective and risk factors that interplay in health and wellbeing over the life span. maintaining good functional ability is the main outcome of the life course approach to health.
Therefore, it can provide high returns for health and contribute to social and economic development.
At this stage of the life course, schools and colleges should be promoting the health and wellbeing of pupils and students to improve their educational outcomes and their health and wellbeing outcomes . PHE has developed a briefing on the link between pupil health and attainment and the evidence shows that pupils with better health and wellbeing are likely to achieve better academically and the culture, ethos and environment of a school influences the health and wellbeing of pupils and their readiness to learn.
Systematic variation in the protective and risk factors that make up the wider determinants of health are social inequalities. These are strong and persistent drivers of health inequalities, leading to differing trajectories and outcomes over the course of a person’s life, and influencing life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. Some people are impacted more by the negative influences on health, leading to shorter life expectancy and more years living with disability.
Being in good quality work supports health and wellbeing because work generally provides the income needed to live a healthy life, is a source of social status, and offers opportunities to participate fully in society. You can read more about how work benefits health and wellbeing in the Health and Work edition of Health Matters.
This means taking action: early and appropriately across the life course to protect and promote health during important transition periods. together as a society to create healthy environments and improve conditions of daily life.
Investment in early childhood, child and adolescent health and development, and preconception, pregnancy and childbirth care can yield a 10-to-1 benefit to cost ratio in health, social and economic benefits. It can also reduce rates of mental health disorders and noncommunicable diseases in later life.
1 Department of Pediatrics, ETSU College of Medicine, PO Box 70578, Johnson City, TN, 37614, USA
1 Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA