Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Harmful Effects Of Childhood Trauma On Later Life Call For New Public Health Policies, Researchers Say
NPR: Research Shows Strong Link Between Childhood Trauma And Adult Mental Illness
When public health officials get wind of an outbreak of Hepatitis A or influenza, they spring into action with public awareness campaigns, monitoring and outreach. But should they be acting with equal urgency when it comes to childhood trauma? A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests the answer should be yes. It shows how the effects of childhood trauma persist and are linked to mental illness and addiction in adulthood. And, researchers say, it suggests that it might be more effective to approach trauma as a public health crisis than to limit treatment to individuals. (Blakemore, 11/9)
NPR: The American Academy Of Pediatrics On Spanking Children: Don't Do It, Ever.
Twenty years after urging caution among parents who choose to discipline their children with spankings, the American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its stance. Now, its overwhelming consensus for parents: do not do it. In a new policy statement issued earlier this month, the group warns that "Aversive disciplinary strategies, including all forms of corporal punishment and yelling at or shaming children, are minimally effective in the short-term and not effective in the long-term. With new evidence, researchers link corporal punishment to an increased risk of negative behavioral, cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional outcomes for children." (Jenkins and Garcia-Navarro, 11/11)
The Washington Post: How To Help A Child Dealing With Pain
Sheer panic. It’s all I can remember. Out of the blue, while enjoying his morning snack one day, my toddler started having seizures. And they didn’t stop. It was terrifying. He was admitted to the intensive care unit. Between seizures he was scared, flailing on the hospital bed, totally out of control. I wanted desperately to help soothe him but didn’t know quite what to do. My first intuition was to distract him. I remember grabbing a jungle pop-up book out of my diaper bag and springing the pictures open right in front of his face to block out all the doctors scurrying about. I made loud roaring sounds like a tiger to drown out all the scary medical noise. It didn’t help. (Coakley, 11/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Harlem Study Fruitful In Teaching Children Healthy Habits
Preschoolers who went through a four-month program focused on the body, physical movement and emotions were able to maintain healthier behaviors in the future, according to research conducted at 15 Head Start schools in Harlem. Half of the children in the study—a continuing project led by Dr. Valentin Fuster, physician in chief at Mount Sinai Hospital—received no intervention initially, while the other half received 50 hours of health education, including lessons on how to take care of the body, the heart, healthy food choices and exploring mad, sad and happy feelings. (West, 11/10)
