Closing the Gap: Interventions to Ameliorate Inequities in Early Brain Development and School Performance in Poor Children

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Publication year

2019

study description

Commentary.

core topic(s)

Early Literacy , Reach Out and Read (ROR)

Population Characteristics

Poverty/Low-Income

Exposures, Outcomes, Other

Brain/Neurocognitive , Child Development (general) , Clinic-Based Programs and Interventions , Disparity/Adversity , School Readiness and Educational Outcomes

objectives

To review two studies and discuss how should we incorporate their results into our efforts to reduce disparities in child development based on SES.

methods

To review two studies (Leung and Suskind, The Journal of Pediatrics; Guevara et al., The Journal of Pediatrics: X) and discuss how should we incorporate the results of these studies in our efforts to reduce disparities in child development based on SES.

sample size

n=2 (studies)

measures

Review.

results

Key Points: You cannot start too early in childhood to intervene to decrease disparities based on poverty; Pediatric primary care is a universal and cost-effective platform for interventions; Income matters; Addressing the impact of racism and bias; No one intervention will be strong enough by itself.

conclusions

We should incorporate the results of these 2 studies in our efforts to reduce disparities in child development based on SES.

limitations

Not discussed.