Prevention versus Treatment of Chronic Illnesses and Childhood Mental Illness

A Sure Start Childrens Centre study based on research in the USA showed that for every $1 spent on intervening early into a childs life, $7 were saved later on due to help being given to the child

The toddler and preschool years in a child’s life are very important and there are many programs that have been implemented to ensure a quality life. As a result, programs such as: (a) Head Start, (b) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and (c) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children all were created to adhere to children ages 1-4. First, the federal Head Start program was launched in 1965 as a part of President Johnson’s “war on poverty” (Kotch, 2013, p.152). Head Start was a national initiative to help improve the odds of an impoverished child succeeding in life. This program provides child care, parent education, and monitors children’s nutritional and emotional status. The second program implemented

The true long-term effectiveness of early intervention programs such as Head Start is difficult to measure. The “Early Children Education Program” paper by Janet Currie provides various studies to which all present either weak statistical significance or some other potential factors that may have influenced the long-term outcomes. This is mainly due to poorly designed studies such as non-randomization. Inconclusive evidence of a true long-term effect of early intervention hinders well-supported arguments for public policy to fund these programs.

In addition, public policies are conceptualized as potentially targeting any of these sets of factors (selection factors, dimensions of poverty, mediating mechanisms, or child outcomes).” (Yoshikawa et al., 2012) In other words, they designed a framework that can be used to observe and review the selection process and mechanisms that affect the mental, emotional and behavioral health of poor children in hopes of providing approaches that can help decrease existing poverty and avert future

The study found that the children who attended pre-K showed increased aggression and decreased self-control (with effect sizes ranging from 0.07 to 0.11 in the model) and performed “significantly” higher in math and reading upon entering school for kindergarten (with effect sizes of 0.10 to 0.12), with disadvantaged children having more lasting cognitive gains (Magnuson, 2007, 34). However, the study also found that “for most children, the cognitive benefits fade,” largely disappearing by the spring of 1st grade, “but the behavioral effects persist” (Magnuson, 2007,

An increasing body of evidence shows that children’s earliest experiences in early care and education programs play a major role on their later success as healthy individuals. However, low-income children may not experience school readiness gains

Prevention researchers distinguish among universal interventions (delivered to all members of a population), selective interventions (delivered to segments of a population identified as being at high risk for a particular outcome), and indicated interventions (delivered to individuals already showing signs of a particular risk). Some interventions operate across these levels, depending on need and risk. Interventions may also focus on a range of ages. Those that focus on young children tend to have comparatively stronger effects, Gonzales observed, because younger children are more malleable. It is often possible to have broader impact on a range of risks with early intervention. Home visits to new mothers, designed to instill positive parent-child interactions from the beginning, is an early intervention that has shown promise. Effects for this approach include reduced physical

Many research studies have been conducted to determine what early interventions have proven most effective with at-risk youth. According to recent studies such as those conducted by Ferdon et al (2014), prevention and early intervention methods are essential and effective in reducing crime, violence, and other delinquent behavior in youth. It is imperative that parents, caretakers, families, community members, educators, and policy makers, educate themselves, spread awareness, and implement and utilize these interventions.

Ms. A is a 28-year-old married, executive who sees the clinician for symptoms over the last three months. Ms. A experiences trouble sleeping and nervousness. Ms. A states she is in good health and used to use substances, but has not used any substances in the last five years. She has had a 15-pound weight loss and fatigue. She has worrisome thoughts that her husband will leave her after his last business trip. She is irritable and restless, and states that even when she is in a relationship, she has feelings of emptiness. (The case study, n.d.).

It is no secret that low income communities are at a disadvantage when it comes to health. Studies have repeatedly shown that people with low income tend to be in poorer health and also be more at risk for health complications. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation notes that economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment, education, community and social context, food, and the health care system are all factors that play a role in health outcomes (Heiman & Artiga, 2015) which has also been articulated in class. Many of those are factors in the lives of families at the Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) Early Head Start program (EHS) which creates complications presently and in the future for communities. Two of the main factors

However, behavioural interventions and those that address issues of social communication have been shown to be the most effective because they tend to improve life skills and other abilities that help to create independence which seem to have the best long term results.

Golos, A. Sarid, M., Weintraub, N. (2011). Efficacy of an early intervention program for at-risk preschool boys: A two-group control study. American Journal of Therapy, 65, 400-408. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2011.000455.

The early years of a child’s life are immensely important for both their present and future health, development and wellbeing. James Heckman (cited in Authur, Beecher, Deaath, Docket & Farmer, 2015) reports benefits for people who participate in enriched early childhood programs, which include being more likely to complete school and being significantly less likely to require benefits, participate in criminal activities or become teen parents. The Australian Government and state and territory

Although it is clear that implementing some socialization outside of the home is beneficial for a child’s social and academic development, the long-term benefits are a topic of controversy among many. Barnett (1995) found that early childhood programs can have large short-term benefits for children and sizable long-term effects on school achievement, grade retention, placement in special education, and social adjustment. He obtained these results through a study assessing 36 studies divided into two categories. In 15 of the studies, researchers developed their own child-care programs to study the effects of model programs. In the remaining 21 studies, researchers analyzed the effects of ongoing, large-scale child-care programs; in five of these studies the children attended state or local programs, five studied children who had attended Head Start and state or local programs, and 11 examined Head Start programs. Head Start is a program throughout the United States set up through the department of Health and Human Services that aids low income families by providing comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services (Head Start, n.d.). Comparisons of estimated long-term effects between the model programs and large-scale programs found that the large-scale program did tend to have smaller effects, possibly due to the fact that the model programs were able to provide higher quality services and more one on one time with the children since

Scotland has several programs to aid in the prevention of the progression mental illness. There are courses on Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid, mentally healthy workplace training, and suicide prevention training. The Mental Health First Aid training is designed to help people recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental disorder and gives people the knowledge necessary to handle a mental health crisis. The mentally healthy workplace training is focused on mental health in and around the workplace, especially problems arising from stigma and discrimination. The Choose Life suicide prevention program has multiple training sessions that vary in length and subject. Applied Suicide