Launching Lifelong Health by Improving Health Care for Children, Youth, and Families

By: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Health and Medicine Division and Board on Health Care Services and Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education and Board on Children, Youth, and Families and Committee on Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Children and Youth through Health Care System Transformation

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Synopsis: Ensuring every child is on an optimal trajectory to a healthy and productive adulthood is imperative for the nation’s future. Investments in children and families improves child health, but also health equity, education outcomes, workforce productivity, and cost-effectiveness in public spending. Despite advances in health care, children, especially those from historically marginalized groups, face rising rates of chronic diseases, obesity, and mental health challenges. Launching Lifelong Health by Improving Health Care for Children, Youth, And Families presents a vision for transforming the child and adolescent health care system. This report also examines how the health care system can be better positioned to equitably address the needs of all children and families and leverage community supports. This requires transforming key components, such as health care financing, public health investment, community partnerships, and accountability strategies, to encourage team-based care delivery models and attention to and health promotion, prevention, and root causes of health disparities.