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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit

@ucl-cpru.bsky.social
99 followers 152 following 53 posts

Conducting high-quality research to support the development of evidence-based policy to improve the health of children and families.

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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
📢 New CPRU publication: Compounding associations of education and social care support on hospital costs throughout childhood www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
medrxiv.org
COMPOUNDING ASSOCIATIONS OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CARE SUPPORT ON HOSPITAL COSTS THROUGHOUT CHILDHOOD
Objective To describe variation in hospital costs among children with different combinations of health conditions, special educational needs or disability (SEND) and children social care (CSC) indicat...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
📢A new CPRU publication looks at how proportionate universalist services are affected by resource constraint in practice. Read it here: jech.bmj.com/content/earl...
jech.bmj.com
How are proportionate universalist services affected by resource constraint in practice? Exploring implementation challenges using a synthesis of four health visiting studies in England
Background Proportionate universalism aims to improve overall health while decreasing health inequity across the social spectrum. For health visiting in England, the ‘universal’ offer is five health r...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
CPRU co-director Ruth Gilbert comments on SEND reform in the BMJ: Special educational needs reforms are a good start to resolving the crisis in schools—but where is the focus on health? t.co/rgc8OEgsv5
t.co
https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s539
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
📢 New CPRU paper on hospital admissions of adolescents with SEND/care experience using ECHILD data. Our paper found high levels of unplanned admissions and low levels of planned care for pupils with multiple needs bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/4/1/...
bmjpublichealth.bmj.com
Hospital admissions among adolescents with local authority care experience or special educational needs in England: a population-based cohort study using linked administrative data from health, educat...
Introduction Children and young people in state care or with special educational needs (SEN) experience disproportionately higher rates of long-term physical and mental illness compared with their pee...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Findings from the HOPE study suggest the Government needs to generate better evidence on SEND provision as part of the SEND service reforms. UCL news item here: ucl.ac.uk/population-h... and full report here ijpds.org/article/view...
ucl.ac.uk
Government needs to generate better evidence on SEND provision as part of the reforms
The government is about to announce major changes to the SEND service, but how strong is the evidence for the principles guiding the reforms?
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
📢 A new CPRU publication in BMJ Open reviews available tools to measure child development at 2–2.5y in England bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/2...
bmjopen.bmj.com
Measuring child development at the 2–2½-year health and development review in England: a rapid scoping review of available tools
Objective All children in England should receive a health review at 2–2½ years, with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire third edition (ASQ-3) used to collect public health surveillance data on child de...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
📢 A new CPRU paper published today on parents' and professionals' perspectives on digital alternatives to the paper-based ASQ-3 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Client Challenge
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
🎙️The @closer-uk.bsky.social Connections podcast is out now! CPRU Co-Director Ruth Gilbert and other guests discuss how linked data is transforming research, the challenges & the innovative solutions shaping the future closer.ac.uk/news-opinion...
closer.ac.uk
CLOSER Connections podcast: Connecting the dots - how data linkage is transforming research - CLOSER
To launch our new ‘CLOSER Connections’ Podcast series, we bring together a panel of experts to discuss how combining different types of data is revolutionising research.
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
📢 A new CPRU cohort study using ECHILD data looks at disparities in adolescent mental health-related NHS presentations www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
medrxiv.org
Disparities in adolescent mental health-related National Health Service presentations in England: secondary school cohort study
Introduction Evidence on demographic and socioeconomic differences in adolescent mental health service use is vital for developing equitable health policy and service responses. We quantified inequali...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
📢 New CPRU research project protocol on frameworks for describing health inequalities in observational public health research published today bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/9...
bmjopen.bmj.com
Frameworks for describing health inequalities in observational public health research: a scoping review protocol
Introduction Observational studies play a pivotal role in understanding population health trends and informing public health policy. However, many such studies inadequately address dimensions of healt...
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Reposted by NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit
Foundations – What Works Centre for Children & Families @foundationsww.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
WATCH ▶️ By identifying how to consistently measure agreed outcomes for children experiencing #DomesticAbuse, our research will help build a more robust evidence base to inform policy & practice. 📄 foundations.org.uk/our-work/publications/selecting-and-validating-outcome-measures-for-the-dva-cos/
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
📣 A report by @foundationsww.bsky.social on selecting and validating outcomes for interventions aimed at improving outcomes for children exposed to domestic abuse has just been published. The work builds on the core outcome set developed in previous CPRU work foundations.org.uk/our-work/pub...
foundations.org.uk
Selecting and validating outcome measures for the Domestic Violence and Abuse Core Outcome Set (DVA-COS) - Foundations
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
📢 A new CPRU publication looks at chronic health conditions and school absence, exclusions, and non-enrolment academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/a...
academic.oup.com
Chronic health conditions and school absence, exclusions, and non-enrolment: a cohort study using the Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data database
AbstractBackground. Policies to reduce school absence can place a burden on children with chronic health conditions (CHCs). Although estimates suggest >
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
📢 A new CPRU publication looks at perspectives of children and young people's mental health practitioners who work with children with experience of intimate partner violence and complex family relationships. Read it here www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Child mental health practitioners' perspectives on providing support for families where there is intimate partner violence: navigating complex family relationships and fear at home
Children who experience and are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) between their parents or carers are at greater risk of mental health proble…
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
📣 A new CPRU paper uses linked data on health, education and social care services to look at hospital admissions for children with SEN/care experience. Read it here www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
medrxiv.org
Hospital admissions among adolescents with local authority care experience or special educational needs in England: a population-based cohort study using linked administrative data from health, educat...
Background We aimed to quantify planned and unplanned hospital admissions during adolescence for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and/or experience of care under local authority supervision...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Our recent paper found child maltreatment and/or parental domestic violence exposure incurs large personal and societal economic burdens. Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
The economic burden of child maltreatment and co-occurring parental domestic violence and abuse in the UK
Child maltreatment (CM) and parental domestic violence and abuse (pDVA) impose considerable lifelong adverse outcomes on those affected. Despite shari…
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
📣 New CPRU report identifies population-level health indicators for children <2y for use in the Start for Life outcomes framework. Our report also includes principles for monitoring service performance in this area. Read it here www.ucl.ac.uk/children-pol...
ucl.ac.uk
Start for Life Outcomes Framework: identifying candidate indicators
Start for Life Outcomes Framework: identifying candidate indicators
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
A recent CPRU paper in @ijpds.bsky.social found 25% of all children living in England are recognised as a child in need by children's social care. One third are referred to children's social care at least once before 18y ijpds.org/article/view...
ijpds.org
Estimated cumulative incidence of intervention by children's social care services to age 18: a whole-of-England administrative data cohort study using the child in need census | Internationa...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
In a recent paper, we support a systems approach to address barriers to support for families experiencing intimate partner violence and mental health problems. There is a need to address the gap between child mental health and domestic abuse services www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Our new paper in @ijpds.bsky.social: analysis of inequalities in early child development ijpds.org/article/view...
ijpds.org
Early child development in England: Cross-sectional analysis of ASQ®-3 records from the 2-2½-year universal health visiting review using national administrative data (Community Service Dataset, CSD...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Feb 2025: Recent work finds support for young people with chronic conditions is highly variable with caregivers and young people often unaware of what is available. We highlight a need for clarity in government guidance. continuityineducation.org/articles/10....
shorturl.at
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Feb 2025: We advocate for an iterative process of listening to and learning from survivors of domestic abuse and child maltreatment and buy-in from funders to ensure research is appropriately resourced and involve sufficient planning time bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1...
bmjopen.bmj.com
Adapting a consensus process for survivors of domestic abuse and child maltreatment: a brief report about adopting a trauma-informed approach in multistakeholder workshops
Purpose Among health researchers, there is a growing appreciation of the importance of the involvement of service users and members of the public. This recognition has not only resulted in involvement...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Feb 2025: Our study in @thelancetph.bsky.social funded by @nihr.bsky.social finds children are nearly three-quarters more likely to develop mental health problems by the age of 18 if the firstborn child in their family experienced adversity in their first 1000 days www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Adverse childhood experiences in firstborns and mental health risk and health-care use in siblings: a population-based birth cohort study of half a million children in England
ACEs in firstborns during the first 1000 days were associated with increased mental health problems and health-care needs in multiple children in the same family. The findings highlight the importance...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Dec 2024: Parents and health visiting professionals in England want a measure of child development at 2-2.5y to be a springboard for a 'warm conversation about what's going on' covering child, sibling, and parent wellbeing. Not just 'tick, tick, tick' bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/1...
bmjopen.bmj.com
What do parents, professionals and policy colleagues want from a universal assessment of child development in the early years? A qualitative study in England
Objective Every child in England should be offered a health and development review at age 2–2½ years by the health visiting service, part of which includes an assessment of child development. The Depa...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Dec 2024: Our paper finds household income predicts steep inequality gradients in child health and school attainment better than neighbourhood deprivation @cpaguk.bsky.social @rcpch.bsky.social academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/a...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Nov 2024: Julia Shumway and colleagues use national data to reveal the emergence of co-morbidities in children with Down syndrome @rcpch.bsky.social pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
March 2024: we published our paper on supporting caregivers with safer sleep journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... @jennywoodmanucl.bsky.social @annapease.bsky.social
journals.plos.org
Parental decision making about safer sleep practices: A qualitative study of the perspectives of families with additional health and social care needs
Introduction Despite a decline in Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy in the UK since 2004, inequalities have widened with higher rates among families from deprived backgrounds and those known to child...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Feb 2024: Study linking health, education & social care data for >30K mothers in England finds Family Nurse Partnership had little impact for first time mothers on child maltreatment, but improvements in child development & reductions in rapid repeat pregnancy bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/2/1/...
bmjpublichealth.bmj.com
Intensive home visiting for adolescent mothers in the Family Nurse Partnership in England 2010–2019: a population-based data linkage cohort study using propensity score matching
Background We evaluated the effectiveness of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP), an intensive home visiting programme aiming to improve birth outcomes, child health and development, and to promote eco...
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Jan 2024: National research shows maternal benefits of community perinatal mental health teams and mixed benefits for babies – mental health and maternity teams need to work together. www.thelancet.com/action/showP...
thelancet.com
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Jan 2024: Our report on design and accuracy of tools to measure early child development which could be routinely used at the 2-2½ year health and development review in England. (1/3) #childdevelopment #earlychildhood #HealthVisitors www.ucl.ac.uk/children-pol...
ucl.ac.uk
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NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit @ucl-cpru.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
CPRU is new to BlueSky. To get caught up, we will be posting a roundup of our studies and findings from Jan 2024-2025
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