The Life Course Perspective or Life Course Theory (LCT)

The CANDLE Study (Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood) is a longitudinal cohort study designed to: Evaluate 1,500 pregnant women and their children living in Memphis/Shelby County, TN from the second trimester into childhood; and Investigate the wide range of genetic, epigenetic, demographic, environmental and social factors influencing child development across urban and suburban neighborhoods.

This presentation provided a review of the design of CANDLE and outlined the work in progress in evaluating factors affecting socioemotional development in African American infants and toddlers in Memphis/Shelby County, TN.

Speakers: Frederick B. Palmer, MD and  J. Carolyn Graff, PhD

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Webinar Objectives: 1. Describe how epidemiological and historical trends affect the system of care for children with developmental disabilities; 2. Explain the life course framework and how it is related to people with developmental disabilities; 3. Identify at least one way to integrate the life course framework into training professionals in the field of developmental disabilities. This webinar titled, "New Bottles for Old Wine: Lifecourse Framework in Historical Perspective" was the first in a webinar series developed through the Southeast Region Consortium and AUCD.

Speaker: Jeffrey P. Brosco, MD, PhD

New Bottles for Old Wine: Lifecourse Framework in Historical Perspective (PDF)

The University of Wisconsin, Madison Pediatric Pulmonary Center (UW PPC) provides interdisciplinary leadership training for graduate students and postgraduate professionals. The training includes a three-credit on-line course entitled Interdisciplinary Care of Children with Special Health Care Needs. This paper describes the course, the content and organization of which was guided by the life course perspective (LCP). The UW PPC team used the LCP to guide course organization, content development, and evaluation approaches. UW PPC trainees took responsibility for content areas, performed literature reviews and reviews of resources, and suggested student activities. Course content was focused on the child with special health care needs (CSHCN) embedded in contextual environments of family, community, culture, and larger social and public policy arenas.

The full article is published in the Maternal and Chlid Health Journal, May 2013. Authors include: Lori S. Anderson, Mary Schroth, Mary Marcus, Craig Becker, Darci Pfeil, Rhonda Yngsdal-Krenz, Debra Silvis, Candace Drier, and Hannah Marshall.

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University of Minnesota, School of Public Health

This issue of Healthy Generations begins with an overview of the life course perspective, serving as the foundation for subsequent articles and materials that explore the framework in greater detail. The contributing authors come from a variety of professional backgrounds and disciplines reflecting its overarching philosophy. The publication includes an exploration of the science of brain development and the impact of early experiences by Dr. Megan Gunnar and follows with a discussion of adverse childhood experiences research. Dr. Glenace Edwall provides an overview of the importance of evidence-based practices in early childhood mental health. The issue concludes with a listing of web resources to provide the reader an opportunity to delve into the life course framework in greater depth.

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To better understand the issues and to inform its deliberation in formulating recommendations for policy, research, and practice, the Infant Mortality Commission asked experts in various fields related to maternal and child health and infant mortality to prepare background papers on specific issues. This background paper explores the relationship between maternal nutrition and infant mortality, with an emphasis on the context of relationality. It provides an analysis of the relationship between maternal nutrition and leading causes of infant mortality, as well as maternal, infant, and child health; an overview of the nutritional status and behaviors of pregnant women in the U.S.; and a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation programs in pregnancy.

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"Disability Across the Life Course" by Tamar Heller and Sarah Parker Harris, from the Institute on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), explores topics central to the lives of people with disabilities across the life course. It is part of The SAGE Reference Series on Disability, edited by Gary Albrecht,(UIC).

In this book, the life course approach assumes that, beginning prenatally, events occurring early in life affect later periods in one's life. It recognizes that development does not necessarily proceed in neat stages and that impairments interact with social determinants (e.g., culture and socioeconomic status) and environmental aspects (e.g., services and supports) across the life course, resulting in differing outcomes for people.

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