NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit

New project - shared decision-making in the care of critically ill children
Responsive Project: Parents' experiences of shared decision-making in the care of critically ill children

News: Children and Families Policy Research Unit awarded £5.5M by NIHR
Children and Families Policy Research Unit (CPRU) awarded £5.5M by NIHR from January 2024 for five years under the co-directorship of Professor Ruth Gilbert and Professor Jenny Woodman

New Publication
Our recent publication highlighted that children are more likely to develop mental health problems if the firstborn child in their family experienced adversity during their first 1,000 days. Read the article here

CPRU Publications
Latest News
New publication:
Our new CPRU report identifies population-level health indicators for children <2y for use in the Start for Life outcomes framework. The report from our project also includes principles for monitoring service performance in this area. Read the report here.
New publication: Adverse childhood experiences in firstborns associated with poor mental health of siblings
Our recent journal publication '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' published in The Lancet Public Health highlighted that children are nearly three-quarters (71%) more likely to develop mental health problems between the ages of five and 18 if the firstborn child in their family experienced adversity during their first 1,000 days.
Read the UCL news item about the article here
HDR-UK Health Data Science Black Internship Programme Summer Internship with CPRU

To read the full report click here:
New publication: The impact of area level mental health interventions on outcomes for secondary school pupils: Evidence from the HeadStart programme in England

Full article can be found here
New publication: Family adversity and health characteristics associated with intimate partner violence in children and parents presenting to health care: a population-based birth cohort study in England

Full article can be found here
CPRU investigates the promotion of safer sleeping for babies in high-risk groups in England

We carried out a mixed methods study of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI).
Our findings suggest that change to current practice is needed if the risk of SUDI in this particular group of families is to be further reduced.