The United States Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council identified outcome assessments for pediatric research as a topic in need of further development in a report titled “Children’s Health, the Nation’s Wealth” published in 2004. Longitudinal studies are especially crucial in pediatric research, as data can be used to inform and shape policies relating to child development, as well as to understand factors that determine health and disease evolution. Comprehensive longitudinal assessment of the health of children requires a framework, methods and tools that are sufficiently integrated to provide a composite view of the whole child over time. Longitudinal studies enable researchers to:
• Track children’s development over an extended time period;
• Study the relationships between environmental exposures, family dynamics, educational results and later outcomes;
• Understand drivers of socio-economic inequality and health justice
The present collection of manuscripts responds to the challenge outlined in the 2004 report, which still remain largely unaddressed, and proposes both a new framework and domain specific methods. Using a multi dimensional dynamic model of health status and assessment, the selection of what assessments to include is based on exemplar cases of different characteristics of the whole child. Through the identification of drivers for particular outcomes, specific assessments can be selected. Where no suitable assessment exists, the gap can be identified, and additional research can be proposed and developed.
This Research Topic aims to describe this paradigm as applied to domains related to children’s function and behavior, child environmental interactions and a new model for integrating assessments into a comprehensive life course-based view of a developing child. We welcome articles that explore outcome assessments for longitudinal studies in pediatric research.
The United States Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council identified outcome assessments for pediatric research as a topic in need of further development in a report titled “Children’s Health, the Nation’s Wealth” published in 2004. Longitudinal studies are especially crucial in pediatric research, as data can be used to inform and shape policies relating to child development, as well as to understand factors that determine health and disease evolution. Comprehensive longitudinal assessment of the health of children requires a framework, methods and tools that are sufficiently integrated to provide a composite view of the whole child over time. Longitudinal studies enable researchers to:
• Track children’s development over an extended time period;
• Study the relationships between environmental exposures, family dynamics, educational results and later outcomes;
• Understand drivers of socio-economic inequality and health justice
The present collection of manuscripts responds to the challenge outlined in the 2004 report, which still remain largely unaddressed, and proposes both a new framework and domain specific methods. Using a multi dimensional dynamic model of health status and assessment, the selection of what assessments to include is based on exemplar cases of different characteristics of the whole child. Through the identification of drivers for particular outcomes, specific assessments can be selected. Where no suitable assessment exists, the gap can be identified, and additional research can be proposed and developed.
This Research Topic aims to describe this paradigm as applied to domains related to children’s function and behavior, child environmental interactions and a new model for integrating assessments into a comprehensive life course-based view of a developing child. We welcome articles that explore outcome assessments for longitudinal studies in pediatric research.
