Lene Lindberg

Research problem and questionsThe first five years of life are crucial for child health and provide a foundation for health over the life course. Prevention of mental health problems is today one of the most important public health challenges. Parenting support is essential to promote young children’s development and already during the first years of life there is a social gradient in how parents’ social and economic position influences parenting and child health. The overarching aim of this programme is to support child wellbeing and mental health through developing, evaluating and implementing feasible and effective interventions within and between the existing health care and municipality services for pregnant couples and families with 0-5 year-old children.Data and methodsWe propose ten interventions on the universal, selective and indicated levels. The basis for these interventions is research on early child development and parenting strategies, from our group and the international literature. We develop new interventions and adapt evidence-based methods in dialogue with practitioners in health care and municipality services to ensure feasibility and early implementation of results.A prerequisite for application of the concept of proportionate universalism is an infrastructure for systematic identification of needs and risk factors and for evaluation of results in relation to social determinants. Here we expand an existing cohort of parent reported data, including validated instruments on wellbeing and mental health, that allows such identification and evaluation from mid pregnancy to child age 4 years. We apply a mixed methods research design including pilot and feasibility studies as well as randomised controlled trials. We apply qualitative and quantitative statistical methods to evaluate feasibility and effects of the interventions in relation to social determinants. In addition, we conduct methodological studies on measurements of parenting strategies as well as child wellbeing and mental health.Relevance and utilisationDespite the broad agreement on the importance of the concept of proportionate universalism, the literature states that improved cross-sectoral collaboration and monitoring of parental support is needed and that research on how interventions on different levels could be combined is lacking. In this programme we intend to fill these knowledge gaps.Programme realisationThis research programme is based on collaboration between several research groups, combining several disciplines and expertise from various fields. We have close links to clinical practice. We aim at introducing junior researchers to research on promotion and prevention during the first years of life, to ensure regrowth and a continued focus on this particularly important phase of life.

Research problem and specific questionsThe overall aim of the project is to increase primary care professional’s ability to identify individuals exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). The specific questions are: a) To what extent do the following three interventions contribute to identify potential victims of IPV: (1) the use of a standardized questionnaire that screens exposure to IPV, (2) staff using tailored virtual patients for clinical training on IPV and (3) a combination of interventions 1 and 2? b) Which intervention do primary care professionals experience as most effective in increasing the ability to identify and respond to victims of IPV? Data and methodThe project will evaluate the effects of three different interventions that can be assumed to increase the health care staff´s ability to identify people who are exposed IPV. The project has a quasi-experimental design. Participating care units are divided into three interventions: 1) a standardized questionnaire to patients, 2) virtual patients tailored to health professionals, and 3) a combination of 1 and 2. Pre-and post-measurement of the health professionals identification of patients exposed to IPV will will be used to explore the effect of the interventions. Focus group interviews with the participating health professionals will be a qualitative complement, in terms of what intervention they experience as the most effective in increasing the ability to identify victims of IPV Plan for project realisationThe project is a multi-professional collaboration between clinicians and researchers within Region Stockholm, Karolinska Institutet, and Stockholm University. The competence in the group is cross-professional with expertise in health and violence, medical pedagogics as well as the development, assessment, and implementation of virtual patients and interactive, digital platforms. Above all, funding is sought for one Phd- student. Relevance The high incidence of psychosocial and physical health problems among people exposed to IPV leads to frequent presentations at health services. Given the high prevalence of IPV and the associated medical consequences and costs of IPV, it is critical to address this public health problem. Our goal is that this project will contribute with tools to identify more individuals exposed to IPV and that the project can serve as a basis for improving national strategies on IPV.

Understanding and reducing the consequences of burns among young people in South Africa - the child's perspective on time after a burn