The topics raised in the article by Shonkoff, Boyce and McEwen are very significant and important nowadays. The research of the work is focused on finding the roots of the development of common adult diseases and addressing these roots at the early stages. The researchers are examining the idea of application of developmental approach to the policies of disease prevention and health promotion.
The research shows that the modern health care professionals prefer to emphasize health promotion; while earlier all the efforts were directed at the improvement of health care services and facilities. This already is an example of the developmental approach put into practice, because the scientists realized that it is much more effective to avoid the emergence of the diseases instead of focusing on the improvement of medications and treatments. The researchers chose more progressive ways of handling public health issues.
Modern approach is focused on minimizing the threats and risks for the population so that the need for treatments, medications and health services is lower. The authors suggest that human development should be included into the process of diagnostics of adult diseases. According to the research, the stages of fetal development and early childhood are the time when the predisposition to many common and serious diseases is formed.
The article called “Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, and the Childhood Roots of Health Disparities: Building a New Framework for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention” is designed to explore the validity of the hypothesis that upstream approach towards the origins of diseases may give the scientists an opportunity to diagnose and prevent many serious adult illnesses on early stages and, as a result, reduce the levels of premature death and chronic morbidity (Shonkoff, Boyce and McEwen 2009).
The authors view various health determinants occurring on the stages of early childhood and fetal growth and examine the way these factors affect the health of a human. Besides, the researchers take into consideration the tests with animals that show what kinds of changes can be caused by certain lacks and deficiencies occurring on the early stages of development. Moreover, the authors research the impacts of stress in early life, as it is a well known fact that psychological conditions and environments of people’s lives are ones of the most important health determinants (The Determinants of Health n. d.).
The article does not contain a special section focused only on literature review. Yet, the multiple quotations in the body of the paper prove that the evidences provided by the authors of the article are based on the researches and experiments made earlier. The authors rely only on scientifically established facts that are related to their study.
The reference list in the end of the paper is very long and it demonstrates that Shonkoff, Boyce and McEwen have done a serious research and reviewed multiple works of other scientists in order to collect as many evidences as possible and prove the validity of the proposition that the upstream approach to the origins of some of the most dangerous diseases of the modern world can be effective and can help to save lives of thousands of potential patients.
The article mentions many of the public health issues that are considered very serious threats in the contemporary world. The research suggests that the upstream approach towards the origins of diseases will help the scientists reduce the risks of such dangerous conditions as type two diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disparities, pulmonary disease, obesity or schizophrenia.
All of these illnesses are highly complicated and difficult to diagnose or cure. For example, according to the world’s statistics, diabetes is the seventh most popular cause of death on the planet. The approach examined by the authors of the article is new and revolutionary, it proposes and completely new view on the human health development (Halfon 2009). According to this approach, some of the diseases that used to be considered the outcomes of the adult lifestyle can be diagnosed and prevented on the stages of early development of predisposition.
The type of research used in the article by Shonkoff, Boyce and McEwen is correlation-regression analysis. The authors of the article are focused on the establishing of the connections between the early stages of human development such as fetal growth and childhood, and the diseases that tend to occur in the adult life.
The authors use many examples in order to demonstrate the relationships between various health determinants and the causes of the most common chronic diseases and disparities. The research is based on the modern works and practical experiments. The data collected for the research is valid and reliable; the examples are appropriately used to prove the impacts of various happenings and health determinants that may influence a human on the early stages of growth.
The sampled article is a solid piece of research. It raises important questions and researches the health care strategies that could significantly improve the state of public health in the future. The approach and hypotheses explored in the article are cotemporary and revolutionary. A new alternative way of viewing the causes and origins of the diseases offers a wide field for further research and an opportunity of disease prevention on a new level. The article is not long, neither it is too short.
The size of the sample is sufficient for the proper description of all the aspects of the research. The article includes an introduction of the topic, the description of its main hypothesis and focuses, and the explanation why the research is important for the contemporary health care. The authors also elaborate on the obstacles for the promotion of health care policies based on the research. Besides, the article suggests future directions for the further work in the field of developmental approach towards the origins of the diseases. The sample is appropriate for the research.
The information provided by the work seems very practical and valid. The researchers suggest several different strategies of improvement of health policies for the children younger than three years old. The policies will affect the risk of injuries, childhood stress and the promotion of vaccination. To my mind, another logical policy derived from this research should be focused on the health promotion for the pregnant women, because a fetus can form predisposition to some of the serious adulthood diseases during the first months of pregnancy. Another important policy based on the research should be aimed at the diets of infants.
According to the research, the healthy eating in the early childhood can help prevent some of the main morbidity and mortality causes worldwide (Gluckman, Hanson, Buklijas 2012). One more way to put the results of the research into practice is using mass media in order to change social behavior and norms (Raine 2010).
To my mind, the article covers all the most important aspects of the research and elaborates on the main points of view within the developmental approach towards health promotion. The language used in the work and the explanations are very clear and straightforward. The examples are valid and related to the topic. The authors skillfully point out the advantages of their research and demonstrate the validity of the approach. The article elaborates on the policies based on the research and its results, and it also suggests further directions.
The future researches on this subject are possible. There are various topics for the further exploration of the developmental approach towards the origins of diseases. The researches could be used for the policies for health promotion for pregnant women, infants and young children. Besides, the scientists may also focus on the study directed to find more diseases that can be diagnosed and prevented on the earliest stages. The ways of prevention of the further development of the diseases is another topic for the research in this field.
It is a well known fact that the diseases that served as the focus of this research are ones of the most popular death causes in the contemporary world. The scientific proof that these diseases are formed on the early stages of life allows the policies focused on health promotion become more effective. The research suggests a new point of view about the causes of the adulthood diseases and provides the health care specialists with more ways of prevention of these illnesses. This is why this research is highly important and can make a significant difference for the future of the humanity.
Reference List
Gluckman, P. D., Hanson, M. A., Buklijas, T. (2010). A Conceptual Framework for
The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 1(1), 6-18.
Halfon, N. (2009). Life course health development: A new approach for addressing upstream determinants of health and spending. Web.
Raine, K. D. (2010). Addressing Poor Nutrition to Promote Heart health: Moving Upstream. The Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 26, 21-24.
Shonkoff, J. P., Boyce, W. T., & McEwen, B. S. (2009). Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, and the Childhood roots of Health Disparities: Building a New Framework for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 301(21), 2252–2259.
The Determinants of Health. (n. d.) Health Poverty Action.