Multimodal and multilevel approaches: key elements in preventive interventions

Excerpt

The social context in which children develop is a key determinant of their health. The social background tells us something about a child’s welfare and chances of growing up healthy. Moreover, it gives us clues as to which target groups should be a particular focus of our attention when implementing preventive interventions (Marmot et al. 2010). Children from low-income families with low education levels generally have poorer health and more psychological problems than their age-matched peers from high-income families with higher education levels. Thus, education level is an important factor. There is a reciprocal relationship between education and health. A recent review of over 50 publications by the World Health Organization revealed some interesting findings (Suhrcke and de Paz 2011) — good general health during childhood has a positive effect on education background and educational attainment. Consequently, poor health has a negative effect on education for the individual child. Children in poor health spend up to one-third more time in the school system than healthy children, and healthy children complete school with higher levels of education. Furthermore, it was shown that poor nutrition and smoking in particular have a negative effect on education. Likewise, the evidence indicates that obesity and overweight are negatively associated with educational outcomes, and that frequent sleeping problems in childhood can hinder academic performance. Conversely, physical activity has a positive impact on academic performance. By comparison, the effects of anxiety and depression on education are under-researched. The authors conclude that the available data provides sufficient evidence for the influence of health on education. Their findings underline the need to invest not only in the education of children, but also in their health and in prevention chains, particularly at the local level, right from the beginning. …