20 Mar Application Problem #3 – Week 7 (Early Life Course & Adverse Childhood Experiences)

During Week 7 we cover the Early Life Course and how the Lifecourse Perspective and theory informs adult health outcomes. We also take a look at Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their relationship to the Social Determinants of Health (e.g. what are ACEs, how do ACEs and toxic stress affect the brain, and a person’s health across a lifetime). The field of public health focuses much of its efforts on health promotion and disease prevention. However, these efforts can take a long time to show their effects (e.g., years or even decades). 

After reviewing the Zoom lecture on Early Life Course: Theory, Models and Application, the article by Shonkoff JP et al. Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, and the Childhood Roots of Health Disparities: Building a New Framework for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and the video by Dr. Nadine-Burke Harris on “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime” (and other course materials you find applicable) please answer the following questions:

Questions:

Respond to all 3 questions below. Be specific about which readings or videos you are referencing from Week 7 in your write-up or video.

1.     Based on the assertion that the promotion of health and prevention of disease in adults begins in the early years of life, what factors or mechanisms do you think might explain the links between early adversity (e.g., ACEs, toxic stress, trauma) and adult health and disease?

2.     What role do you think adverse childhood experiences (or early adversity) plays in health disparities across racial or ethnic groups and/or underserved populations?

3.     What are we currently doing or could be doing in public health to reduce and buffer the effects of adverse childhood experiences in early childhood, and among those most at risk (e.g., low SES, exposure to neighborhood violence, etc.)?

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Please Remember: 

·        Analysis Prompts can be completed in a written or video format (your choice)! 

·        For written format, the summary should be no more than one page (single spaced) OR two pages (double spaced). 

·        Course content and material from the posted Weekly Work Plan, including lectures, videos, and readings should be used for the assignment. 

·        Include references, either written or verbally depending on your chosen format. In-text citations, using numbers is useful for the written format instead of writing references out like this – (ex. Author Last Name et al., 2021). For one page written (single spaced), page 2 should be your reference page. If you do two pages (double spaced) then page 3 will be your reference page.