Healthy Children

Children are a good example of a population group whose compromised health has consequences, not only for their life course, but also for society.

• Our research overcomes the limitations of previous studies and incorporates a critical, population health approach.
• There is evidence to show that neighbourhood effects on children are observable, but that these effects were very small after accounting for individual differences. This conclusion is at odds with recent studies that show not only that there are neighbourhood effects on child health outcomes independent of individual level factors, but that these neighbourhood factors may have an even greater impact on child health outcomes than previously understood.
• Policy makers lack an evidence base to support interventions that are contextual and locally based.
• Research on the impact of physical and social environments on healthy childhood development is complex, and research to date suffers from a lack of conceptual clarity, lack of data at the level of place of residence, lack of activity that is meaningful to subjects, and little incorporation of social theories that explain the importance of context in the lives of individuals.