Our vision

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

Our aims

  • Strengthen the evidence base for prevention in early years
  • Strengthen the evidence base for promoting positive health behaviours in educational settings
  • Reduce health inequalities by strengthening the evidence base for action on social determinants of health in early life
  • Develop new methods in data science to measure child health
  • Expand academic capacity in primary care and public health by training the next generation of researchers
  • Translate research directly into practice, policy and raise public awareness in child health

Science should benefit the population it serves and children and young people have a right to have a say about decisions that affect them. Working with communities we have developed an ongoing dialogue that has helped to shape our priorities, test ideas for research and develop an action plan to get our research into practice and policy. Our work has been included in national and international guidelines and policy and has attracted public interest.

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Father with a baby

Preventive primary care in the early years

Universal coverage and access to preventive primary care for children from birth is the cornerstone of strong health systems globally.

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Young girl looking through a door

Health and wellbeing in schools

Physical inactivity and poor diet are driving obesity in the population and pose a major threat to future health globally

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Young adults sitting on a bench

Long-term conditions in adolescents and young people

The focus of this theme is to help adolescents and young people who have been diagnosed with long term conditions understand their condition and how best to improve their own health

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Professor Sonia Saxena

Head of the Child Health Unit
Professor Saxena's research aim to find better ways to prevent, detect and treat childhood illness.