Exploring variation in the delivery of health visiting services in England

The health visiting service is offered to all families in England with children aged under 5 years and aims to improve child health outcomes and reduce health inequalities. Since 2015, health visiting services have been provided by local authorities allowing for adaptation to meet the needs of local populations. However, this transfer to local authority commissioning occurred against a backdrop of cuts to public health budgets and an ongoing decline in health visitor workforce numbers. 

This event will present findings from two mixed methods studies that aim to describe variation in the delivery of health visiting services in local authorities across England and investigate whether any ways of delivering health visiting are associated with better outcomes, particularly for children exposed to early life adversity. Jenny, Louise and Amanda will draw on their analysis of national administrative data (Community Services Dataset) and interviews with health visitors and parents.

This event will be particularly useful for those interested in health visitors, use of national administrative datasets, maternal health, and healthcare in England.

Related links

• Thomas Coram Research Unit (TCRU)
• UCL Social Research Institute