Research enables us to evaluate new and innovative methods of supporting parents and children.

Within England, accessing the right service to provide the right support to babies, toddlers or pre-schoolers can be tricky – this is especially the case when parents and caregivers have questions or concerns that are not addressed by universal offers such as a new birth visit or a 2-2.5 year developmental review. This might include worries about excessive crying, or questions about whether a toddler is showing autistic traits. By becoming more knowledgeable in the latest research evidence families may be more likely to take on new advice and information or access and accept support if they understand the evidence base for it.

The benefits are not just limited to families though. Practitioners can enhance their skillset by learning new evidence-based ways of working which will benefit the families their work with. They can also gain knowledge and skills by participating in research themselves.

Services can offer more to their families by embedding evidence-based practice in the support they offer. They can also often be more clinically and cost effective in the delivery of their services. By actively participating in research they can go further – accessing new and innovative interventions, understanding their users better, or even improving their data collection processes.

Find out more about the types of research you could be involved in and becoming research ready.