Kids and Health Care: What is Preventive Medicine?

To some people, the term preventive medicine means so much that it ends up meaning nothing. According to various sources, it can involve everything from early psychiatric therapy or family counseling to parental education.

The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine issued a voluminous report, From Neurons to Neighborhoods, that presents scientific evidence showing the importance of early childhood development and early intervention services. It finds that the brain and nervous system undergo their most dramatic development during the first few years of life. From birth to age five, children develop foundational linguistic, cognitive, emotional, social and moral capabilities upon which subsequent development builds.

The differences among what kids know and can do are obvious by kindergarten. These differences are keenly associated with social and economic circumstances and can predict later academic performance.

For the purposes of this book, we'll describe the difference between responsive and preventive medicine as the difference between the ER and the doctor's office. Responsive medicine treats illnesses, injuries and health issues once they've become problems; preventive medicine measures a child's development from infancy -- and focuses on eliminating potential health issues before they become problems.

Preventive medicine is harder to quantify and categorize -- but it does save money over the long term.

The effectiveness of preventive medicine has been documented in a variety of studies. For example:

• Breastfeeding is recommended by pediatricians to help infants grow and to anchor mother-infant interactions. A survey by The Commonwealth Fund found that mothers are more likely to breastfeed when educated and encouraged to do so by their doctor or nurse.
• Consistent reading times and daily home-life routines have been shown to influence healthy brain development in young kids.
• Educating parents about infant communication has resulted in significant differences in sensitivity to communication cues and social/emotional growth-fostering behaviors.
• Guidance from the pediatrician during office-based visits has resulted in infants showing advanced vocal imitation.
• Education and assistance provided to mothers in an intensive care unit nursery had a significant effect on the cognitive development of low birth weight infants, to the point where their development approximated that of normal birth weight infants.