Childhood Poverty: Understanding and Preventing the Adverse Impacts of a Most-Prevalent Risk to Pediatric Health and Well-Being

Adam Schickedanz; Benard P Dreyer; Neal Halfon

doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2015.05.008

Childhood Poverty: Understanding and Preventing the Adverse Impacts of a Most-Prevalent Risk to Pediatric Health and Well-Being

Pediatr Clin North Am. 2015 Oct;62(5):1111-35. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2015.05.008.

Authors

Adam Schickedanz¹, Benard P Dreyer², Neal Halfon³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, Bellevue Hospital Center, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address: bpd1@nyumc.org.
³ UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Public Health, and Public Policy, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

PMID: 26318943
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2015.05.008

Abstract

Poor children are at greater risk for worse health, less productivity, and harms to well-being that extend into adulthood and subsequent generations. Timing and duration of poverty matter and influence life course outcomes, especially for education, health, and lifetime productivity. This article focuses on interventions by policy advocacy and the pediatric health system, and protection of the health and well-being of families in economic hardship from disadvantages and trauma wrought by poverty. A framework is presented for child poverty prevention and its consequences for lifelong health and success on a national scale.

Keywords: Financial assets; Income; Life course; Low-income; Poverty; Social determinants of health.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Child
Child Welfare*
Health Promotion / methods*
Health Services Needs and Demand*
Humans
Pediatrics
Poverty*
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Socioeconomic Factors