Early Childhood Development (ECD): How can data on early developmental concerns be better used to inform timely health interventions and longer‑term support for children with care experience?
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.
Next steps
Get in touch with [email protected]
Related UKRI funded projects
-
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?
The project aims to create a research-ready dataset linking data on children by Local Authorities and health services, which can inform timely health interventions and longer-term support for children with care experience.
-
ADR England Community Catalyst: Children at risk of poor outcomes
National and local organisations produce a wealth of valuable data, which can be used to understand how we can reduce the number of children at risk of poor social, health and educational outcomes. However, at present, t...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Swansea University
Why might this be relevant?
The project establishes a national community catalyst to connect researchers and analysts using administrative data for child-focused research, which could partially address the question.
-
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 compares health outcomes for care experienced children in Scotland using linked administrative data, directly addressing the question on how data on early developmental concerns can be used to inform health interventions.