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Article
Analyzing Policies Through a DOHaD Lens: What Can We Learn?
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Julia M. Goodman, Portland State University
  • Janne Boone-Heinonen, Oregon Health & Science University/OHSU-PSU School of Public Health
  • Dawn M. Richardson, Portland State University
  • Sarah B. Andrea, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health
  • Lynne C. Messer, Portland State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2018
Subjects
  • Diseases -- Causes and theories of causation,
  • Disease susceptibility,
  • Prenatal influences,
  • Public health -- Social aspects,
  • Medical policy -- Analysis
Abstract

Social, health, and environmental policies are critical tools for providing the conditions needed for healthy populations. However, current policy analyses fall short of capturing their full potential impacts across the life course and from generation to generation. We argue that the field of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), a conceptual and research framework positing that early life experiences significantly affect health trajectories across the lifespan and into future generations, provides an important lens through which to analyze social policies. To illustrate this point, we synthesized evidence related to policies from three domains—family leave, nutrition, and housing—to examine the health implications for multiple generations. We selected these policy domains because they represent increasing distance from a reproductive health focus, each with a growing evidence base to support a potential impact on pregnant women and their offspring. Each of these examples represents an opportunity to extend our understanding of policy impact using a DOHaD lens, taking into account the potential life course and intergenerational effects that have previously been overlooked.

Description

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

DOI
10.3390/ijerph15122906
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/27208
Publisher
MDPI
Citation Information
Goodman, J., Boone-Heinonen, J., Richardson, D., Andrea, S., & Messer, L. (2018). Analyzing Policies Through a DOHaD Lens: What Can We Learn?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(12), 2906.