Our vision

To produce high-quality research to improve health and wellbeing of children in the UK and globally

Our aims

• To address emerging health problems identified by children, young people and those who care for them
• To improve knowledge of biological, behavioural and social determinants of health in childhood
• To strengthen the science base to prevent illness in children through better primary care
• To reduce child health disparities by examining impact of policy on health of vulnerable groups
• To develop new methods in data science to measure health system inputs and child health outcomes
• To expand academic capacity in child health by training the next generation of researchers
• To translate research directly into practice, policy and raise public awareness in child health

Why is our research needed?

Wellbeing goes beyond a mere absence of illness and links physical, mental and emotional health with the ability to be resilient or bounce back in adverse circumstances. Children are healthier today than at any time in history, but many child deaths are still preventable, and the world population is living longer in ill health from long-term conditions such as diabetes, obesity and cancer. Better information is needed to understand how best to promote healthy behaviours, so children remain healthy and improve preventative programmes to reduce the global burden disease in the population. We are especially interested in why some children and young people who tend to live in poorer areas or among disadvantaged groups have poorer health outcomes and impact of new policy interventions on health disparities.

Our work has been included in national and international guidelines and policy and has attracted public interest. We collaborate widely with clinicians and policymakers and third sector agencies to get information out into the wider community in the UK, Europe and international arenas.