Variation in mental and physical health of children

Dates

Feb 2019 – January 2022

Principal Investigator

Dr Pia Hardelid

Co-investigators

Professor Steve Morris, Professor Terence Stephenson, Dr Erin Walker, Professor Roz Shafran

Researcher

Dr Ania Zylbersztejn

Theme

Long-term conditions and disability (link to theme page)

Rationale

Children with learning disabilities or autism may have multiple physical and mental health needs, requiring care and co-ordination across many different NHS services. Caring for a child with long-term conditions, particularly neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism or learning disabilities, can be challenging and a major source of stress leading to both mental and physical health problems for parents and siblings.  In this project, we will examine how improvements to health or children’s social care services for these children can lead to better outcomes for them and their families, and reduced NHS costs.

Aims

Our overall aim is to identify policies relating to health or other services that are likely to be effective in improving the health of children affected by learning disability or autism and their families, thereby producing savings in the NHS. We will focus on examining variation in provision of health and social services, and in health status of children with learning disability and autism and their families, to identify such policies.

Our objectives are to

1. Examine variation in co-ordination of care within the NHS for children with complex learning disabilities across England, and its relationship to the risk of emergency hospital admission in affected children.
2. Determine the association between local investment on children’s social care and rates of emergency hospital admissions for children and families affected by complex learning disabilities.
3. Describe variation and disparities in mental and physical health of children with learning disability or autism and their families according to socio-economic status, ethnic group, local authority of residence, and north-south and east-west geographical areas.
4. Evaluate newly available administrative data sources for policy-relevant research into children with learning disability and autism and their families.