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Anxiety disorders are the most common emotional disorders in children, affecting up to 19% of all children and adolescents, and are associated with significant impairment and poor long term outcomes. Research at the University of Reading has highlighted particular parental factors associated with the development and persistence of childhood anxiety disorders. This research led to the development of a brief treatment which has proven effective for a significant sub-group (>70%) of patients. The treatment has been widely implemented in the U.K. and internationally. As a result, the research has increased access to evidence based treatment, which has benefitted affected children, their parents/caregivers and children's mental health services.
Jacqueline Barnes' evaluations of government initiatives promoting parenting and child development for vulnerable families have directly affected major policy decisions since 2008. Her study of the Home-Start programme demonstrated limited benefits of unstructured volunteer support, and informed recent NICE guidance on early intervention. Her subsequent evaluation of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme for vulnerable mothers changed government policy. The success of FNP, as demonstrated during the initial evaluation phase, led to ministerial decisions to more than double the provisions of this programme in 2010 and 2013. FNP has now been rolled out widely in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This case study focuses on the construct of mind-mindedness: parents' or carers' ability to `tune in' to what their young children are thinking or feeling. Durham-based research highlighted how parental mind-mindedness is associated with a range of positive child and family outcomes, and has had impact via two main routes: (a) advice and support offered to parents (10,000 copies of the NSPCC's All Babies Count booklet and associated social media sites reaching 800,000 parents), and (b) interventions targeted to improve outcome in parents and families experiencing difficulties.
Professor Dieter Wolke has led several research programmes that delineate the long-term health effects of prenatal exposure to stress and moderate/late preterm, very preterm, and extremely preterm birth. His research has had a direct impact on international medical guidelines and educational recommendations for babies born preterm. The research has also informed European political debate (via a White Paper for the European parliament) on healthcare policy related to after care for preterm or sick children; has influenced UK policy regarding the education of children born preterm; and has contributed to public and practitioner understanding through media items issued, for example, by the NHS and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Some 480,000 UK children show persistent antisocial behaviour (Conduct Disorder), a major mental health problem in childhood with strong continuity to adult substance misuse, violence and criminality. Research at King's College London (KCL) showed that these children cost the public ten times more than individuals without Conduct Disorder by age 28. To tackle the problem, KCL researchers were the first to demonstrate that a rigorous parenting programme is a highly effective treatment, even for severe cases. KCL leads the National Academy for Parenting Research which has trained 3,192 practitioners in these approaches, who are estimated to have treated 192,000 troubled children. This success has contributed to the programmes being recommended in NICE guidance and incorporated in a new nation-wide Department of Health-funded rollout reaching 54% of 0-19 year olds in England. The training has also been disseminated internationally.
Cancer treatment for children is one of the success stories of medical care in the twentieth century. Survival increased from almost zero in the 1950s to today, when treatment for some child cancers results in over 90% survival. These improved survival rates have, however, been achieved through use of highly aggressive treatment protocols, with adverse implications for the child's cognitive, emotional and social development and the burden of care on families. Nationally, researchers at Sheffield were among the first to identify the extent to which children continued to show psychological and behavioural problems, even long after the end of treatment. As such, they contributed significantly to discussions about how to balance medical treatment to control the cancer while taking into account the immediate and longer-term impacts on child quality of life and parents' psychological well-being. The work has had direct implications for both national and international clinical guidelines, and assessment of quality of life in national clinical trials. It has also resulted in user-friendly information for schools and families.
Wood and Plester conducted the first empirical research into the impact of text messaging on children's literacy abilities, the results of which have impacted on:
The University of Southampton's Food Additives and Behaviour in Children (FABIC) study has driven major changes in food processing and labelling policies. As a direct result of the research, the UK's Food Standards Agency recommended six artificial colourings — which have come to be known as the `Southampton Six' — be removed from food. In addition, the European Parliament now requires clear labelling to indicate the use of these colourings, as well as an accompanying warning about their effects on attention and behaviour in children. The risk of youngsters throughout Europe being exposed to potentially harmful additives has thus been significantly reduced.
Three studies by Trinder have helped shape national policy and informed practice on three related issues regarding arrangements for children after parental separation. The three issues are whether or not there should be a statutory presumption of shared time, the scope and shape of education programmes for separated parents and whether additional punitive sanctions would assist with the enforcement of court orders for contact. Trinder's three studies have built a strong evidence base and have had an impact by:
1) helping to shape national policy on shared care, parent education and enforcement;
2) informing professional decision-making on shared care, parent education and enforcement;
3) stimulating public debate about shared care.
This case study represents the work of the Pyramid research team within the INSTIL Education Research Group (INSTIL ERG). Research at the University of West London is characterised by an ambition to promote `useful knowledge' and this case study, with its focus on providing evidence to inform and direct practice, fits within this approach. The case study describes the first rigorous evaluation of the impact of Pyramid after-school clubs that aim to improve the socio-emotional wellbeing of vulnerable children. The work of the Pyramid research team provides an empirical evidence base to support the work of a range of stakeholders including: practitioners; policy makers and researchers in the field of children's socio-emotional well-being, and the children and their families. Drawing on the evidence base, these impacts include the securing of funding for the continuation of Pyramid clubs in schools and informing future development and extension of the Pyramid club intervention for delivery to other age groups.