CYFC Scholars
Program
Mary Hearst
Social Determinants of
Child Well-Being: Opportunity, health and school readiness
disparities
Abstract
A combined approach focusing on improving health and education in early
childhood in context will result in better outcomes throughout
life. Central to early childhood development
is the recognition that the effects of (dis)advantage on health
are cumulative. It
is the compilation of harm
– the lack of opportunity structures - that frames the health and academic
success of children in low-income areas and impacts the social and economic
prospects of the neighborhoods in which they live.
The specific aims of my work during the four-year Scholar appointment
are to build upon the existing structure of Five
Hundred Under Five (500u5) by expanding the intervention
to a quasi-experimental, longitudinal study. 500u5
is an intervention addressing the social determinants of health
and school readiness. As
500u5 is a geographically based intervention in North Minneapolis,
a comparable population will be drawn from the surrounding neighborhoods
creating a quasi-experimental design. The selection bias will be minimal as
characteristics of the participants will be similar. The longitudinal component will involve following children
beyond kindergarten. Given
the highly mobile nature of this population, procedures will
need to be established along with subsequent grant funding for
tracking, continued assessment, and participant compensation. Finally,
pilot testing of biological markers of cardiovascular disease
risk will be conducted. Secondarily,
I will continue to build, maintain and utilize Minnesota Child
Welfare Research Collaborative (MCWRC) partnership aimed at identifying
long-term effects of early school success on health and academic
outcomes.
This process will include engagement with community partners and members
at the planning, implementation and dissemination phases. I will seek grant funding to support this
and related work, and broadly disseminate findings in both public
and professional forums.
