Behavioral Vaccines and Evidence-Based Kernels: Nonpharmaceutical Approaches for the Prevention of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

In March of 2009, the Institute of Medicine issued a new report on the Prevention of Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People. 1 Fundamentally, the report calls for ending the rationing of prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders (MEBs) among America's children, youth and young adults. Continued rationing of access to scientifically proven prevention causes a serious threat to the country's national security 2 and to our economic competitiveness compared to 22 other rich countries.3 Such MEBs are also the leading preventable cost center for local, state and the federal governments. 1,4 These preventable MEBs cause health-care costs to continue to spiral up.The IOM Report calls for a public-health approach to MEBs-basically like how America and Canada dealt with the polio epidemic, measles, mumps, car passenger injuries to children, and accidental poisoning from medications and toxic chemicals. Why is this necessary? America's rates of some of these mental, emotional and behavioral problems are worse than other developed countries, 5,6 and rates of some of these problems have objectively increased over the past 20-50 years in America. 7 The attributes of a public-health approach for MEBs are defined in the article.The article discusses multiple examples of how public health approaches might reduce or prevent MEBs using low-cost evidence based kernels, which are fundamental units of behavior. Such kernels can be used repeatedly, which then act as "behavioral vaccines" to reduce morbidity or mortality and/or improve human wellbeing. This document calls for six key policy actions to improve mental, emotional and behavioral health in young people-with resulting wellbeing and economic competiveness of North America and reducing health-care costs. Embry is an employee and stockholder of PAXIS Institute, which receives fees and royalties for research, products, consulting and other services related evidence-based kernels and behavioral vaccines. He is also stockholder and officer in a web-based company, SimpleGifts.com, designed to make evidence-based kernels accessible to individuals and organizations.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptPsychiatr Clin North Am. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 March 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptKeywords evidence-based kernels; behavioral vaccines; prevention; public-healthThe Institute of Medicine Report on the Prevention of Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People 1 (IOM Report)...

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