how do you use life course approach to explain the first 1000 days

Why are the first 1000 days of life so important?

Feb 16, 2022 · The developmental principle of ontogenetic adaptation 3 helps guide the diagnostic process during the first 1000 days. This approach combines horizontal phenotypic identification of form and...

What is a life course approach?

A life course approach emphasises a temporal and social perspective, looking back across an individual’s or a cohort’s life experiences or across generations for clues to current patterns of health and disease, whilst recognising that both past and present experiences are shaped by the wider social, economic and cultural context. In epidemiology, a life course approach is being …

What is the life course approach to early childhood education?

For the First 1,000 Days programme, that means honing in at the start of it all. Focusing on quality of life for mothers and babies, so they get equitable outcomes from generation to generation. • Robust evidence shows it is critical to invest in the first 1,000 days, so that every child gets the strongest start to life. We must act early.

What is a life course on health disparities?

The first 1000 days are also a period of high sensitivity to programing effects from external factors such as the maternal physiological environment in utero, breast milk, and diet (Godfrey et al, 2010). It is during this time that that there is high plasticity in development, a process which results in phenotypes that may or may not be suited to the adult environment.

What is the life course approach theory?

The life course perspective or life course theory (LCT) is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the mental, physical and social health of individuals, which incorporates both life span and life stage concepts that determine the health trajectory.

What is the life course and why is important in studies of the social determinants of health?

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.May 23, 2019

What is the importance of life course approach?

Adopting the life course approach means identifying key opportunities for minimising risk factors and enhancing protective factors through evidence-based interventions at key life stages, from preconception to early years and adolescence, working age, and into older age.May 23, 2019

What is meant by life course?

New Word Suggestion. [ sociology] A culturally defined sequence of age categories that people are normally expected to pass through as they progress from birth to death.

What is the life course and why is it important for medical anthropologists?

The life course perspective posits that cumulative and interactive exposures over the life span—including in utero exposures—influence the development of health disparities.

What is the life course approach to health?

The life-course approach aims at increasing the effectiveness of interventions throughout a person's life. It focuses on a healthy start to life and targets the needs of people at critical periods throughout their lifetime .

What is an example of life course theory?

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.

What are the 5 key concepts of life course theory?

Life course theory has five distinct principles: (a) time and place; (b) life-span development; (c) timing; (d) agency; and (e) linked lives.

What are life course outcomes?

A “life course” perspective looks at the entire span of life and emphasizes challenges related to quality of life. A public health perspective focuses attention on taking action and measuring impacts at community, state, and national levels rather than on individual clinical treatments.

Why is the life course perspective significant to gerontology?

The life course perspective recognizes the influence of historical changes on human behavior. 3. The life course perspective recognizes the importance of timing of lives not just in terms of chronological age, but also in terms of biological age, psychological age, social age, and spiri- tual age.

Summary

This resource for NHS and public health professionals focuses on taking a life course approach to the prevention of ill health and explores the evi...

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 o...

Interventions across the life course

This section covers several recommended interventions across the life course selected by PHE for local government, the NHS and commissioners. It is...

Prioritising prevention of ill health

Now is the time to prioritise prevention of ill health. Action is needed by the NHS, by national government and by local government, all working in...

Resources

These resources can be used in presentations of your own or to share with colleagues: expanded interventions table supporting references Health mat...

What is life course approach?

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.

Why is it important to invest in the life course approach?

Therefore, it can provide high returns for health and contribute to social and economic development.

How are physical and mental health determinants influenced?

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.

Why is the preconception period important?

The preconception period presents an opportunity for health professionals to encourage women and men to adopt healthier behaviours in preparation for a successful pregnancy and positive health outcomes for both themselves and their child. This includes:

Why should schools promote health and wellbeing?

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.

Why is the built environment important?

They can enhance the long-term health and wellbeing of those who use them regularly, reduce the risk of falls, promote physical activity , and reduce social isolation.

What are the determinants of health?

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.

What is the first 1,000 days of life?

The first 1,000 days of life - the time spanning roughly between conception and one’s second birthday - is a unique period of opportunity when the foundations of optimum health, growth, and neurodevelopment across the lifespan are established.

How long does it take for the brain to develop?

While all nutrients are important for brain development and function, optimal overall brain development depends on providing sufficient quantities of key nutrients during specific sensitive time periods in these first 1,000 days.

What is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world?

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world. Globally, an estimated 47% (293 million) of all preschool-aged children and 42% (56 million) of all pregnant women are anemic, with approximately half attributable to iron deficiency (3). The periods of peak brain iron requirement and therefore of highest risk ...

Why is iron important during pregnancy?

Iron supplementation during these key periods of peak iron need, particularly during pregnancy, has proven to be an effective deterrent of later neurodevelopmental impairment.

How many children fail to meet their potential?

At least 200 million children living in developing countries fail to meet their developmental potential (1). Along with undernutrition, concomitant influences of infectious disease, environmental hazards, and societal and household violence, all contribute to this loss of potential.

What is the role of iron in the brain?

The developing brain at these time points requires iron for proteins that regulate myelin production, neurotransmitter synthesis, and neuronal energy production. These processes in turn support speed of processing in the brain, as well as behaviors such as affect and emotion, and learning and memory.

What is the peak period of iron deficiency?

The periods of peak brain iron requirement and therefore of highest risk of iron deficiency-induced neurobehavioral impairment are: 1) the fetal/neonatal period and 2) infancy/toddlerhood (6 months to 3 years). The developing brain at these time points requires iron for proteins that regulate myelin production, neurotransmitter synthesis, ...

What is life course?

A life course perspective is about examining changes, whether they be biological, developmental (including social and psychological factors), historical, or geographic and attempting to identify which factors affect the arc of change, and what transformations change bring. Some of what goes on occurs because of intrinsic dynamics called ontogenetic forces that are inherent, built into our biology, and moving us along life’s path. Some change can be attributed to when, where, and how we live, who we are, and where we fit into the social structures in which we are ensconced. Many scholars assert the ways we grow up and grow old are socially constructed, normative, or prescriptive. Yet, because humans are sentient beings, we do not just take change as given, we impose meaning on it and bend it to our purposes—of course we take direction from it as well. In a manner of speaking, under optimal circumstances, we reinvent ourselves with each transition as transformed meanings take shape. Of course, optimal circumstances are neither equitably distributed nor sometimes even possible. In each of the five variations outlined in Alwin’s essay, it is clear that a life course perspective allows us to look at life, attend to differences in circumstances be they psychological, sociological, biological, economic, or demographic, and consider what roles they play in explaining why we have diverse experiences as we grow up and grow old.

Who developed the alternative paradigm of life course analysis?

As Alwin avers, sociologists, among others, formulated an alternative paradigm of life course analyses that emphasized cultural factors, social circumstances, and social interactions as the building blocks of change, integral to understanding the life course.

What is social location?

Social location is another aspect of location that shapes the life course. As Alwin avers, Riley and a host of other sociologists are accustomed to thinking about socioeconomic strata —the hierarchical stratification that occurs in all modern societies.

What is changing worldviews?

Changing worldviews are linked with shifts in technology, modes of production, economic structures within a society, and the structure of knowledge giving form to the meaning of experience.

What is adult social conditions?

In each instance, adult social conditions refer to a panoply of events and experiences occurring during the adult years. Some of these may be macro-level influences such as public policies and immersion in social institutions, such as work, careers, families, and so on, but others are unique individual experiences.

How do social relationships make a difference in life?

Social relationships make a profound difference in the life course and those relationships serve as resources available during times of need. Any life course framework worth its salt must address the relevance of these social interactions.

What is the role of Brofenbrenner in the development of human development?

Brofenbrenner (1979) provides a key interpretative frame by casting life as a social construction captured in his notion of an “ecology of human development” to characterize the contextualized relationships that create what we think of as the life course.

When a baby's development falls behind the norm during the first year of life, is it more likely to fall

When a baby’s development falls behind the norm during the first year of life, for instance, it is much more likely that they will fall even further behind in subsequent years than catch up with those who have had a better start. 5. 7.

What are the risks of early childhood?

16. Risks to a child’s health and development have some important characteristics. The risks to children in this early period are often not immediately identified, but can have lifelong consequences. These risks are often: 1 hidden. 37 For example, most of what happens during this early period of a child’s life takes place within the privacy of people’s homes, rather than in public. 38 Many of those who responded to our online forum expressed feeling very lonely and isolated after their child’s birth, especially when they had no family or services nearby. 39 2 the consequence of behaviours that are very difficult, and often time consuming and resource-intensive, to support, manage and/or remedy. Stigma associated with these behaviours makes it difficult for a parent to disclose information and therefore for a practitioner to identify a problem. 40 For example, some women who responded to our online forum reported that they actively tried to hide that they were experiencing symptoms of postnatal depression from friends, family and professionals. 41 3 strongly influenced by wider social factors. 42

What are some examples of social stresses?

18. Poverty, poor housing and unstable, low paid work are examples of social stresses that act against the ability of parents to provide a secure, healthy, nurturing environment during the early years of a child’s life. 45 Poverty is a major factor for other risks too. Smoking in pregnancy, breastfeeding rates and obesity in pregnancy all adversely ...

What is the importance of a child's home environment?

A child’s home environment exerts an important influence over their future health and development. 47 A child’s home, family and community environment is a place where a lot of learning takes place during these early years.

What are the risks to children from conception to age 2?

The risks to children from conception to age 2 and the outcomes they achieve are strongly linked to their social circumstances. 43 According to the Health Foundation: Good development in the first 1000 days is also strongly socially patterned, with clear inequalities evident by socio-economic position from an early age.

What are the factors that affect a child's health?

13. A child’s health and development are influenced by individual characteristics (e.g. genetics, personality and gender). 24 However, a child’s family, particularly their parents, their home, the community they live in and the wider society they are part of, all contribute significantly to their future health, development and life chances.

What are the influences of parents on children?

The influence of a child’s parents during these early years cannot be overstated. A child’s health and development is influenced by their parents’: physical health (e.g. diet, smoking, consumption of alcohol and substance misuse) 28. mental health 29. relationships (e.g. domestic violence and parental conflict) 30.