Pregnancy and birth
Breathing
Body Weight
Brain Development
Well Beingpositive health
ECHO researchers use data from more than 64,000 diverse children and their families across the U.S. to explore early determinants of child well-being, such as maternal health during pregnancy, family and social support, sleep, media use, physical activity, family hardships, and chronic health conditions.
Positive Health Resources
CDC: Promoting Social and Emotional Health
Provides articles and tools promoting social and emotional health of children and adults.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center
Provides information on how to promote children’s social and emotional well-being. Helps families and educators understand the connections between childhood mental health and overall well-being.
How ECHO Advances Research on Positive Health
Positive health research in ECHO examines a child’s sense of well-being, as measured by overall health, life satisfaction, and meaning and purpose. Positive health differs from the mere absence of disease. It is a health outcome that spans the whole child rather than focusing on one or more organs or systems.
ECHO also takes an asset- or strength-based approach to positive health and its other four health outcome focus areas. An asset-based approach looks at factors that promote health or prevent disease alongside more typical approaches that examine causes of disease. Some assets may reflect resilience factors or the ability to cope in harmful biological, behavioral, or social environments.
By including positive health as one of its five priority outcomes, ECHO seeks to advance scientific understanding of the developmental pathways that help explain how children can lead happy and healthy
What We're Learning
The ECHO Program has published more than 1,500 articles about the results of its research, including many that looked at positive health outcomes.
Here are recent examples of ECHO research:
Life Satisfaction for Adolescents with Developmental and Behavioral Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
October 2023
When exposed to certain stresses during the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents with a history of depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder had lower life satisfaction compared to their peers.
Influences of Health Conditions on Children’s Overall Health and Life Satisfaction
February 2022
Children with a variety of chronic conditions generally felt just as good about their overall health and life as their peers without chronic conditions. The two exceptions were depression and conditions with chronic pain, both associated with lower life satisfaction.
Questions
For more information, please email the NIH at NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.
For media inquiries or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager at rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.
Read Additional ECHO Research Related to Positive Health
ECHO Study Suggests Living Near Green Space Is Associated with Lower Anxiety and Depression in Preschool-Age Kids Read more
New ECHO Research Highlights Gaps in Literature Studying Role of Fathers in Child Development Read more
ECHO Cohort Study Identifies Best Tests of Biological Age to Use for Different Types of Pediatric Tissue Samples Read more
ECHO Research Identifies Variety of Low-calorie, Nutrient-rich Foods for Optimal Prenatal Nutrition Read more
Educational Background and Child Age Influenced Experiences of Caregivers During COVID 19 Pandemic Read more
ECHO Study Suggests Limiting Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Home Key to Reduce Total Consumption by Children Read more
ECHO Study Suggests Caregiver Stress May Be Linked to Child Sleep Issues Read more
Children and Adolescents Born Preterm Were More Likely to Use Healthcare Services Related to COVID-19 Symptoms Read more
ECHO Study Suggests COVID-19 Pandemic Contributed to Developmental Delays in Infants, Toddlers Read more