Research School Network: Born in Bradford

Last week we visited the Born in Bradford team at the Bradford Institute For Health Research. Primary teachers in Bradford will be familiar with the Born in Bradford study, but secondary teachers may not, so we thought we would share the work that they are carrying out.

One of the largest research studies in the world, Born in Bradford is tracking over 13,500 children, born at Bradford Royal Infirmary between March 2007 and December 2010 (and their parents). Their health will be tracked through childhood and into adult life. In tracking the lives of over 30,000 Bradfordians, they are developing new and practical ways to work with families and health professionals to improve health and wellbeing. The information is being used to find the causes of common illnesses/​conditions and to explore the mental and social development of the cohort.

The Bradford community provides a unique setting for a birth cohort study exploring the determinants of childhood and adult disease because of its diversity of population and high levels of ill-health. In addition, the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub aims to help children in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton get a better start in life.

One of our goals at Bradford Research School is to make sure that we address needs specific to Bradford. The Born in Bradford study gives us a rich body of data and while the main focus is on improving health outcomes, we can identify those places where health and education overlap and ensure that findings are put to good use. Here are a number of the current research projects which they are looking at, with particular relevance to schools:

Impact of poor vision on children

Within the BiB cohort, 8% of the children had reduced vision and 4% had very poor vision when tested in their first year of school. The vast majority of these problems could be treated by wearing glasses. However, 27% of students identified failed to attend an arranged appointment and, for many reasons, some still do not wear glasses. Dr Alison Bruce is currently following a group of children to investigate the long-term effect of reduced vision on literacy development.

Standing desks

The Stand Out in Class project, funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research Programme (NIHR PHR), will see Year 5 pupils in four Bradford primary schools trial sit-to-stand desks. In total, eight Bradford schools are taking part. Researchers will measure children’s sitting, standing and walking time, general health, memory and learning, academic progress and classroom behaviour to gain a fuller understanding of the outcomes of using sit-to-stand desks.

Evidence shows children who sit for long periods are likely to become adults who sit for long periods, with prolonged sitting increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. The study is being led by Bradford Institute for Health Research and Loughborough University scientists.

Learning ability, working memory capacity, and well-being

Born in Bradford researchers are carrying out assessments that will show the learning ability, working memory capacity, and well-being of children in Y3 and Y4. The assessments will indicate which children are struggling in class and will pick up where their difficulties lie, for example in their fine motor control, their language skills or their working memory.

You can read more about the work with schools here: https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/what-we-do/schools/primary-school-years/

All of the children in the cohort are of primary school age, but they will soon be moving into secondary school. There is a Born in Bradford Teacher Reference Group, with the next meeting on November 30^th at Bradford Institute for health research and they welcome any Bradford teacher or teaching staff to join them.

Find out more: https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/

WE NEED YOUR HELP! We would like to hear what you think are the most important research questions about dental care and what keeps people’s mouths, teeth and gums healthy. Can you help us by answering our short survey? You can find further information here: https://oralanddentalhealthpsp.wordpress.com/participate/