title: Preventing brain disorders: a framework for action.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prevention efforts have greatly reduced the prevalence of many communicable and non-communicable diseases worldwide. In contrast, prevention strategies for mental disorders remain in their infancy. This paper provides a summary of the key issues surrounding mental disorder prevention and proposes a framework for how to catalyze action in the area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three core assumptions guide this work (1) the onset of mental disorders is often preventable, (2) among those individuals with a mental disorder, the trajectory of health and functioning can be shaped by external resources, and (3) many specific and generic risk and protective factors for mental disorders are associated with specific stages of the life course.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose that the adoption of a life course approach to prevention can be clarifying and motivating for both research and practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY, 10032, USA, sr2863@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Sasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rudenstine
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galea
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008603:Mental Health