About Early Equity

The research programme Early Equity contains over 10 different interventions aiming at promoting young childrens wellbeing and mental health.

Photo: Lotta Sjöberg

The main component of these interventions is parental support, based on research on early childhood development and parenting strategies. We develop and evaluate new initiatives and adapt evidence-based methods in dialogue with healthcare services to ensure feasibility and early implementation of the results.

In addition to the interventions we carry out, we establish a clear structure for systematically identifying needs and risk factors, as well as evaluating outcomes based on social factors. We use an existing database of parent-reported data, where validated tools measure parenting, child well-being, and mental health. This enables both the identification of needs and the monitoring of the effects of our interventions.

To ensure a thorough and reliable evaluation, we use a combination of research methods. These include pilot studies, feasibility studies, and randomized controlled trials. Additionally, we develop measurement tools to better track how parents perceive their parenting and how young children are doing. This is achieved through studies of various self-report questionnaires for parents.

Funding

Early Equity is funded by FORTE (Research Council for Health, Working life and Welfare). A couple of the projects in Early Equity have additional funding. 

Steering group

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Lene Lindberg

Principal investigator
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Anders Hjern

Co-researcher
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Emma Fransson

Co-researcher
16-07-2025