National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services' Policy Brief on Exploring the Rural Context for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Date:
Duration: approximately
minutes
Featured Speakers
- Paul Moore, DPh, Executive Secretary, National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services; Senior Health Policy Advisor, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
- Donald (Don) Warne, MD, MPH, Former Committee Member, National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services; Director, Indians into Medicine (INMED) Program, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Science
- Siri Young, LCSW, Mental Health and Special Services, Schoharie County Child Development Council, Inc.; Founding Member, Schoharie County ACEs Team
- Aaron Lopata, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are forms of chronic stress or trauma, (e.g., abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction) that, when experienced during childhood and adolescence, can have profound short- and long-term consequences on an individual's development, health, and overall well-being. As first described in a landmark 1998 study, researchers identified a relationship between the number of ACEs and poor adult health-related outcomes, including increased risks for diabetes, cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In the twenty years since the seminal study was published, further research has strengthened the association between early life events and later adult health and well-being. However, when considering the prevalence of ACEs based on levels of urbanization, research remains limited. While this is the case, it is plausible to argue that rural Americans would be at an elevated risk of experiencing chronically stressful events, and therefore, more ACEs and their downstream effects.
This webinar will examine the rural landscape of ACEs, explore the role that health and human services play in mitigating and preventing ACEs and their related outcomes, feature a community and grassroots rural initiative developed in upstate New York, and highlight the Committee's policy recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.