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Adolescence as a Critical Stage in the MCH Life Course Model: Commentary for the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Interdisciplinary Training Program Projects

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Abstract

The Life Course Perspective (LCP), or Model, is now a guiding framework in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) activities, including training, supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. As generally applied, the LCP tends to focus on pre- through post-natal stages, infancy and early childhood, with less attention paid to adolescents as either the “maternal” or “child” elements of MCH discourse. Adolescence is a distinct developmental period with unique opportunities for the development of health, competence and capacity and not merely a transitional phase between childhood and adulthood. Adequately addressing adolescents’ emergent and ongoing health needs requires well-trained and specialized professionals who recognize the unique role of this developmental period in the LCP.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of HRSA/MCHB for the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Interdisciplinary Training Program, the seven projects currently funded (Boston Children’s Hospital; Indiana University; Johns Hopkins University; University of Alabama at Birmingham; University of California, San Francisco; University of Minnesota; University of Washington) and the two projects funded in the last cycle (Baylor College of Medicine; University of Rochester).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 717 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    Rebecca Shlafer & Michael D. Resnick

  2. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Albert C. Hergenroeder

  3. Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    S. Jean Emans

  4. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Vaughn I. Rickert

  5. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Hoover Adger Jr.

  6. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Bonnie Spear

  7. University of Californian, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Charles E. Irwin Jr.

  8. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

    Richard E. Kreipe

  9. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Leslie R. Walker

Authors
  1. Rebecca Shlafer
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  2. Albert C. Hergenroeder
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  3. S. Jean Emans
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  4. Vaughn I. Rickert
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  5. Hoover Adger Jr.
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  6. Bonnie Spear
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  7. Charles E. Irwin Jr.
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  8. Richard E. Kreipe
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  9. Leslie R. Walker
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  10. Michael D. Resnick
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Correspondence to Rebecca Shlafer.

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Shlafer, R., Hergenroeder, A.C., Jean Emans, S. et al. Adolescence as a Critical Stage in the MCH Life Course Model: Commentary for the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Interdisciplinary Training Program Projects. Matern Child Health J 18, 462–466 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1243-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1243-8

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