Jo Anne Grunbaum, EdD, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop K-33, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-6182, jpg9@cdc.gov, Michael Windle, PhD, Dept. of Psychology, Center for the Advancement of Youth Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH 415, 1530 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35294-1170, Marc N. Elliott, PhD, RAND Corporation, 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407, Susan Tortolero, PhD, Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, University of Texas - Houston, 7000 Fannin, Ste 2622, Houston, TX 77030, Sandra H. Berry, MA, UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138, and Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, UCLA, Box 951752, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1752.

Introduction: Healthy Passages is a prospective research study designed to provide a basis for the development of effective policies and interventions to ensure optimal health and development of children, adolescents, and adults. Healthy Passages provides a comprehensive assessment of both determinants and outcomes to characterize the developmental trajectories and the relative contribution of multilevel risk and protective factors on health behaviors, health outcomes, and educational outcomes. Methods: Healthy Passages will enroll two cohorts of fifth-grade children in sequential years and assess them biennially through age 20 years. The combined cohorts will comprise an equal number of students (1,750) from each of three locations – Birmingham, Alabama; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California – and will include equal representation of African-American, Hispanic, and white children. Results: Development of Healthy Passages instruments included a pilot study. The pilot study included 646 white, African-American, and Hispanic children and their primary caregiver. This presentation provides an overview of the purpose and design of the Healthy Passages main study; pilot study data on specific domains, such as obesity, media use, and fear of terrorism; and description of the implementation of the main study. Discussion: Healthy Passages will help identify when we should intervene, where (home, school, or community) we should focus our efforts, and what specific behaviors need to be targeted for interventions. Policy and intervention implications can be assessed during key short-term transitions (e.g., elementary school to middle school) as well as across the longer term (e.g., impact of parental communication at baseline on positive outcomes).

Learning Objectives: