Tag Archives: toxic stress

BestStart Washington/Project Nature’s Commitment to Breaking Down Barriers Caused by Racial Inequality

 

BestStart Washington is committed to ensuring that all children and youth in Washington State have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We recognize that entrenched structural racism is an unacceptable barrier to child health and potential.

In our pediatric practices, we see first-hand the negative health outcomes that arise from racism including increased infant mortality, low birth weight, increased incidence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), decreased school readiness, higher school drop-out rates, and mental health problems stemming from chronic stress. Continue reading

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Fighting Chronic Disease
The Heckman Equation
Posted: May 1, 2014
New research from economist James Heckman and colleagues shows that quality early childhood programs that incorporate health and nutrition help prevent adult chronic disease.

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Trumping ACEs: Building Resilience and Better Health in Kids and Families Experiencing Trauma
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – Culture of Health
Posted: October 7, 2013

“Fifteen years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study found that children exposed to traumatic events were more likely to develop mental and behavioral health problems like depression and addiction. They were also more likely to have physical illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

Today, based on that evidence, we are witnessing a health revolution….”

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Using Science to Drive New Approaches to Child Welfare
Center on the Developing Child
Harvard University
Posted: October 4, 2013

“With their eyes on a more healthy, stable, and productive future for the nation’s most vulnerable children and families, federal child welfare officials are broadening their strategy…to try to enhance caregiving and to reduce the adverse experiences that can trigger toxic stress and its damaging lifelong consequences.”

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Pediatricians Take On Toxic Stress
Center on the Developing Child
Harvard University
Posted: October 1, 2013

Part one of a series of four articles. “A growing body of scientific evidence about the power of severe childhood stress to weaken brain architecture and damage lifelong health is prompting leading pediatricians to call for a seismic shift in pediatric primary care.”