Experiences of services and support: What are children and young people’s experiences of stigma and discrimination when using health services and what impacts do these experiences have on their health and wellbeing outcomes?
Background
Improving the physical health of care experienced children and young people is a complex challenge, not least because their health trajectories can differ substantially before, during and after periods of living in the ‘care system’. The Children’s Health in Care in Scotland (CHiCS) study shows that population wide linkage of social care and health records is possible at scale, and that care experienced children experience higher rates of mortality, prescriptions, hospitalisations, and a range of physical and neurodevelopmental conditions across the life course.
However, understanding health is not only about understanding the prevalence of conditions. Evidence from CHiCS also highlights the importance of how young people access and use health services, including patterns of preventive care, missed appointments, emergency admissions and other interactions across the system. This includes consideration of early childhood development, recognising the importance of physical growth, early development, and the foundations laid in infancy and early years. Administrative datasets alone provide limited insight into unmet need or how well services respond to children’s experiences and circumstances. Better evidence on service access, pathways, and the support required at key points in a young person’s journey would strengthen policy and help deliver health care that truly reflects the ambitions of The Promise.
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Research fields
Related UKRI funded projects
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Comparing health outcomes for care experienced children and children in the general population in Scotland using linked administrative data
Children who are in the care of their local authority (care experienced children, CEC) are one of the most vulnerable groups of people in the society. In 2017 approximately 15,000 children in Scotland were visited by soc...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Glasgow
Why might this be relevant?
The project directly addresses the question by comparing health outcomes for care experienced children in Scotland and has the necessary expertise to do so.
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Development of a research-ready dataset linking data on children and young people in London held by Local Authorities and healthcare providers
Background There are serious challenges facing social care, education and health services for children and young people in England. Beyond high profile cases of avoidable child deaths, the social costs of poor outcomes ...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Imperial College London
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it focuses on developing a research-ready dataset linking data on children, but does not directly address experiences of stigma and discrimination in health services.
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Empowering children to shape the future of research on social inequality and health
Social inequality is a key cause of poor health and reduced wellbeing for individuals and communities. Lack of access to adequate and healthy food, appropriate and comfortable housing and good quality public services has...
Funded by: AHRC
Lead research organisation: Teesside University
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it empowers children to shape research on social inequality and health, but does not specifically address experiences of stigma and discrimination in health services.