Health Policy & Management

This collection of essays by leading scholars in the field of childhood development focus on the critical issues and questions that need to be addressed at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Topics covered include the ecology of fetal development, birth and the newborn period, family ecology and infant development, infant care settings, gender influences on caregiving, culture, violence, poverty, substance abuse, social support, maternal age, risk and protective factors, the impact of legal and public policy, and historical, and future ecologies of infant development

The major emphasis in this book is a compilation and definition of what is known about components of human milk, including glycoconjugates, that inhibit common pathogens of the infant. Also discussed are other bioactive constituents whose relevant biological roles are also beginning to be defined. Hormonal and cytokine activity, immunomodulating and autoinflammatory agents, xenobiotics, and conditionally essential nutrients in milk could have roles in the protection of the infant, but may also participate in digestive processes, maternal-infant communication, maturation of the gut, central nervous system, and other components of infant growth and development. Like the protective activities, these are discussed in terms of their presence in milk, structures, potential functions, and structure/function relationship. Components whose role is nutritional support during early development of the infant are also included.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Americans enjoyed better overall health than at any other time in the nation's history. Rapid advancements in medical technologies, breakthroughs in understanding the genetic underpinnings of health and ill health, improvements in the effectiveness and variety of pharmaceuticals, and other developments in biomedical research have helped develop cures for many illnesses and improve the lives of those with chronic diseases. By itself, however, biomedical research cannot address the most significant challenges to improving public health. Approximately half of all causes of mortality in the United States are linked to social and behavioral factors such as smoking, diet, alcohol use, sedentary lifestyle, and accidents. Yet less than five percent of the money spent annually on U.S. health care is devoted to reducing the risks of these preventable conditions. Behavioral and social interventions offer great promise, but as yet their potential has been relatively poorly tapped. Promoting Health identifies those promising areas of social science and behavioral research that may address public health needs. It includes 12 papersâ€"commissioned from some of the nation's leading expertsâ€"that review these issues in detail, and serves to assess whether the knowledge base of social and behavioral interventions has been useful, or could be useful, in the development of broader public health interventions.