Last month, several members of the pPOD team were fortunate enough to attend an event at the British Library. The event, hosted by the North Central London Research Consortium (Noclor), was the first in a series of health conversations looking at how social and health interventions can best support the early years environment.
Sir Harry Burns, Professor of Global Public Health at Strathclyde University, Scotland, was invited to present on ‘What Causes Wellness? Research Priorities for Children and Young People’.
During his talk, Professor Burns stressed the complexities attached to the concept of ‘wellbeing’ and the detrimental effect societal problems can have on the health of entire communities. By describing his own experiences, alongside supportive research, Professor Burns provided a deep and interesting insight into the impact of psychosocial issues – including substance misuse, violence, suicide and accidents – on public health, and the need for Governments to place more focus and resources on the effects of social determinants on the wellbeing of its young people.
Interestingly, he introduced the term ‘salutogenesis’ (coined by Antonovsky) and used it to describe the importance of protective factors to best support health and well-being in children and young people. These included a nurturing family environment, a ‘sense of coherence’, hardiness, empathy and a high level of perceived control. Professor Burns placed special emphasis on the roles of physical activity, mindfulness and social connections/sense of community in protecting against – and even reversing the effects of – poverty, inequality and their associated risk factors.
Sir Harry Burns, Professor of Global Public Health at Strathclyde University, Scotland, was invited to present on ‘What Causes Wellness? Research Priorities for Children and Young People’.
During his talk, Professor Burns stressed the complexities attached to the concept of ‘wellbeing’ and the detrimental effect societal problems can have on the health of entire communities. By describing his own experiences, alongside supportive research, Professor Burns provided a deep and interesting insight into the impact of psychosocial issues – including substance misuse, violence, suicide and accidents – on public health, and the need for Governments to place more focus and resources on the effects of social determinants on the wellbeing of its young people.
Interestingly, he introduced the term ‘salutogenesis’ (coined by Antonovsky) and used it to describe the importance of protective factors to best support health and well-being in children and young people. These included a nurturing family environment, a ‘sense of coherence’, hardiness, empathy and a high level of perceived control. Professor Burns placed special emphasis on the roles of physical activity, mindfulness and social connections/sense of community in protecting against – and even reversing the effects of – poverty, inequality and their associated risk factors.
Professor Burns concluded by outlining the success he had witnessed through bringing together 800 individuals, working in childcare across 32 different counties in Scotland, in order to discuss how they could make Scotland the ‘best place to grow up in the world’. The group has worked together since 2000 and, in that time, has seen a 15% decline in both the rates of still births and infant mortality – their work has been described as one of the most significant public sector reforms of our time. Burns stressed that, above all, promoting and supporting a nurturing environment for infants and children in their earliest years has proved to set them up for the best possible outcomes – a sentiment which is particularly relevant and encouraging for the pPOD team and the work we do.
Author: Beth Barker
Author: Beth Barker
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