Human health and well-being is dynamic, following a person-specific trajectory across the life course. Growing attention is being placed on families as systems that also experience dynamic trajectories of health, well-being, and development. There remain valuable opportunities to tailor health-promoting programs, services, and practices in ways that align with a life course perspective and center the family environment as a context for effective interventions. Consistent with these points, Dr. Todd Jensen and Dr. Sarah Verbiest serve as Steering Committee members of the Life Course Intervention Research Network (LCIRN). Dr. Verbiest is the leader of the Family and Community Engagement Core, and Dr. Jensen is the incoming leader of the Family Measurement Node.
Members of the Family Measurement Node are currently planning a rigorous investigation of how individuals describe and experience their families over time as dynamic systems. This work aims to uncover operative “family ages and stages” that encompass more nuance and variability than what is often captured in many existing family theories and measurement tools.
Additional work by Dr. Verbiest and Dr. Jensen in relation to LCIRN is featured in a recent Supplement of the journal Pediatrics, the flagship journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Specific articles are linked below:
- What Makes an Intervention a Life Course Intervention?
- Building a Life Course Intervention Research Framework
- Proposal for Life Course Intervention Researcher Core Competencies
- Engaging Families in Life Course Intervention Research: An Essential Step in Advancing Equity
- Family Health Development in Life Course Research: A Scoping Review of Family Functioning Measures
- Using the Tools of Today to Advance the Life Course Interventions of Tomorrow
