The Early life and adolescence programme undertakes and promotes public health research of the highest quality, and seeks to translate findings into policy and practice to improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant women, children, young people and their families.

We aim to draw together and support collaborations between researchers, policy makers and practitioners  with interests in sustaining or improving the health and wellbeing of these groups. We explore how to provide a ‘healthy start’ through critical periods of development, from pre-conception, pregnancy, infancy, preschool and school years, adolescence and the transition to independence and adulthood. Our members have academic and practice expertise in a range of public health topics relevant to these life stages including obesity, smoking, alcohol, immunisations, mental and emotional wellbeing and sexual health.

The programme objectives are to conduct, develop, evaluate and translate research to:

• Promote a healthy start in life by focusing on determinants affecting a healthy pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence
• Promote healthy emotional and mental wellbeing among children, adolescents and young people
• Reduce risk taking behaviour among young people that adversely affect their wellbeing
• Inform and influence policy and practice on the linkages between child health and social/ structural inequalities through acting on social determinants of child health
• Promote the inclusion of children’s and families’ voice in the planning, implementation and evaluation of related national and local policies

To achieve this we seek to build effective and lasting partnerships with policy and practice partners for collaborative co-production of public health research in these critical life stages, and to foster career development for early career researchers and post graduate researchers in this field.

The programme links with work within the Fuse Behaviour change and Health inequalities research programmes, and the Children young people and families theme in the NIHR School for Public Health Research.

Contacts
Professor Carolyn Summerbell - Programme Lead, Durham University
Email: carolyn.summerbell@durham.ac.uk

Dr Nicola Heslehurst - Programme Co-Lead, Newcastle University
Email: nicola.heslehurst@ncl.ac.uk