Research project gives children a say on healthcare

A Teesside University research project is one of just ten across the UK to secure funding to explore the future of health and social care.

Academics from Teesside University have been awarded a share of £348,000 from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Arts Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to explore the effects of social and health inequalities on children.

Researchers will develop creative and interactive workshops for children living in areas of high deprivation in the South Tees region, which will provide opportunities for them to share their lived experiences and thoughts around social inequality, health and wellbeing.

The children’s opinions and ideas will be captured through activities such as comic-creating, writing, dance and performing, and artists, writers, musicians and performers will collaborate to produce anthologies and films based on their creative outputs.

The project findings will be shared with public health professionals, policymakers, researchers, and members of the public to positively influence health and wellbeing services supporting children.

Led by Dr Rachel Carroll, Associate Professor in English, the research team comprises academics from a range of arts and humanities disciplines within Teesside University’s Centre for Culture and Creativity and Centre for Social Innovation, including Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Dr Bob Beagrie, Jennifer Essex, Julian Lawrence and Dr Ben Lamb.

The project is being delivered in partnership with Tees Valley Education Trust, with support from the Health Determinants Research Collaborative and the Live Well Centre in Middlesbrough.

Dr Rachel Carroll, from Teesside University’s Centre for Culture and Creativity, said: “We are committed to addressing the health and social inequalities faced by children, and to do that we need to listen to them.

“Working alongside children with lived experience of health and social inequalities and providing opportunities for them to express their perspectives, we can inform the development and delivery of health and wellbeing services for children and help to tackle important issues.”

The research project is part of the AHRC’s wider work to uncover what the health and social care landscape will look like in the future and what different groups need to prosper.

Alongside Teesside University, the University of Strathclyde, the University of Liverpool, Manchester Metropolitan University, Heriot-Watt University, the University of the Highlands and Islands, the University of Manchester, the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent and Edge Hill University were awarded funding.

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