Guyer B, Ma S, Grason H, Frick K, Perry D, Wigton A, McIntosh J. 2008. Investments to promote children's health: A systematic literature review and economic analysis of interventions in the preschool period. Baltimore, MD: Women's and Children's Health Policy Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 134 pp. Annotation: This paper reviews selected areas of the available research on short- and long-term impacts of health promotion and disease prevention interventions for infants and children from birth to age 5, as well as during the prenatal period. The paper provides background, offers an argument for societal investment in children's health, explains the goal of the paper, discusses the methodology, and provides results and a conclusion. References are included. The paper includes four appendices: (1) tobacco use prevention and intervention, (2) addressing obesity across the lifespan, (3) unintentional injury prevention and intervention, and (4) mental disorder interventions. Each appendix discusses the problem's magnitude, determinants and risk factors, health consequences, economic consequences, evidence for prevention and treatment, and cost implications of interventions. Each appendix also includes a summary of research on the topic, in tabular form. Contact: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Women's and Children's Health Policy Center, 615 North Wolfe Street, Room E4143, Baltimore, MD 21205, Telephone: (410) 502-5450 Fax: (410) 502-5831 Web Site: http://www.jhsph.edu/wchpc Available from the website. Keywords: Child health, Costs, Disease prevention, Financing, Health promotion, Infant health, Injury prevention, Intervention, Literature reviews, Mental disorders, Mental health, Obesity, Prevention, Research, Smoking, Unintentional injuries, Young children |