To date we have met with a number of groups of parents, children and young people to discuss our work. In particular, we work very closely with the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) and the GOSH Parents’ and Carers’ Advisory Group, who have been involved from the start with this project. The GOSH YPAG helped us choose a name and gave us ideas for our logo!

We have also visited schools to talk about how we use data to research the link between the environment and child health.

We’ve shared some of our experiences of involving children, young people and parents in our work in a blog for ADR UK, where Professor Pia Hardelid reflects on our public engagement journey and how the ideas and feedback we have received are helping to shape the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort.

Pia has also talked about the Cohort and our research on the Gin & Topic podcast. In the episode ‘Clean G & Kids Environment and Health’, she discusses how we can use linked data to understand the relationship between children’s health and the environments they grow up in. 

We co-developed the Kids’ Environment and Health public engagement strategy with the GOSH Young People’s Advisory Group and Parents’ and Carers’ Advisory Group, charity organisations, young people, and parents, and have incorporated their feedback into our communication materials. In the future we want to work with children, young people, and parents to develop research priorities for the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort. 

We are speaking to children, young people, and parents to understand their views and research priorities. We are particularly keen to understand the research questions that are important to them, which researchers can conduct and explore in future using the cohort. We have developed – with children – the Children and Young People’s Guide for Researchers, which explains when and how it is appropriate for researchers to link children and young people’s data for research, while keeping it safe, private, and used for public benefit.

Our engagement with parents and carers has also helped us think about how research findings should be communicated. Working with parents, we have co-developed guidelines for writing clear and accessible lay research summaries. The guidelines set out practical advice for researchers on using plain, inclusive language and sharing research in ways that are clear, accessible and useful to the public. 

We have also developed educational resources for schools, including a free 20-minute introduction to epidemiology for Key Stage 2 children, which explores how data and statistics can be used to understand the links between the environment and children’s health. Explore our educational resources to find out more and access the materials.

You can also find us on Instagram and Linkedin: 

@kids_env_health_cohort

We are working with the general public (you!) to set up the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort. We want to ensure your views and the ideas of parents, children, and young people are incorporated as we develop the cohort. This includes ensuring that the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort is used to answer questions that are important to children, young people, and parents.