Search

Background: Very young children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often show poorer language development. Whilst there have been attempts to provide early intervention programmes, these sometimes miss the most disadvantaged groups. Aims: This report presents preliminary feasibility and effectiveness data for a novel language intervention designed for parents of toddlers in the United Kingdom. Methods and Procedures: In total, 43 UK families of 2–4‐year‐olds were recruited to the study, half of whom completed an 8‐week course (Tots Talking) focussed on parent interaction, and half of whom acted as wait‐list controls. Results and Outcomes: Results suggest that such programmes are feasible for families with 86% staying in the intervention. In addition, greater changes in underlying communication skills such as joint attention and gesture were evident compared to wait‐list controls. Conclusions and Implications: We conclude that pre‐verbal skills may be more important to measure as initial outcomes than language or vocabulary change in this population. What This Paper Adds: What is already known on the subject: Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are at higher risk of communication difficulties and there is a need for community intervention programmes for very young children. What this study adds: This study suggests that such programmes can be feasible and effective, but that very early/basic communicative skills (such as joint attention) may be boosted first rather than language or vocabulary. What are the clinical implications of this work?: Children's centres and other community services could feasibly run short parent facing courses emphasising contingent communication in low SES families and other diverse groups. These may be more successful run with younger preschoolers. Joint attention may be a better focus of intervention before expecting vocabulary or language change. Community health professionals may find this information useful in referring and supporting families in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good nutrition in the early years of life is vitally important for a child's development, growth and health. Children's diets in the United Kingdom are known to be poor, particularly among socially disadvantaged groups, and there is a need for timely and appropriate interventions that support parents to improve the diets of young children. The Medical Research Council has highlighted the importance of conducting developmental and exploratory research prior to undertaking full-scale trials to evaluate complex interventions, but have provided very limited detailed guidance on the conduct of these initial phases of research. This paper describes the initial developmental stage and the conduct of an exploratory randomised controlled trial undertaken to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a family-centred early years' nutrition intervention. Choosing Healthy Eating when Really Young ( CHERRY) is a programme for families with children aged 18 months to 5 years, delivered in children's centres in one urban ( Islington) and one rural ( Cornwall) location in the United Kingdom. In the development stage, a mixed-methods approach was used to investigate the nature of the problem and options for support. A detailed review of the evidence informed the theoretical basis of the study and the creation of a logic model. In the feasibility and pilot testing stage of the exploratory trial, 16 children's centres, with a sample of 394 families were recruited onto the study. We hope that the methodology, which we present in this paper, will inform and assist other researchers in conducting community-based, exploratory nutrition research in early years settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SHIFT has been one of the largest RCTs in the field of systemic family therapy in the UK. The study took place over five years, including three major centres with fifteen Trusts and twenty‐five family therapists who worked with a manualized treatment in CAMHS with adolescents who self‐harmed. While the results are not available at the time of this publication, this paper will briefly describe the pre‐ existing factors which were helpful in developing a successful bid, clinical and managerial elements of ‘real world research’ of complex psychological processes and the construction of the manualized systemic family therapy. It also offers examples of some of the unanticipated events in the life of such a large trial. Practitioner Points: Large trials develop from small studies and clinicians are urged to look for opportunities for research partnershipsInvestment in time for consideration of difficult issues as they arise is essential for effective trial managementThe balance between research rigour and ‘real life’ practice is an inevitable area of tension and requires consideration of both immediate and outcome consequences 尝试和痛苦 – 一种随机对照试验对比下的把干预当作惯常和在实施过程中出现的重要事件上的反思的家庭治疗 人工家庭治疗 摘要: SHIFT目前是英国家庭治疗领域最大的随机对照试验之一。本研究历时5年, 囊括了三个主要的中心在内的15个信托, 25位曾在CAMHS对自残青少年进行人工治疗的家庭治疗师。因为在发表这篇文章的时候, 结果还没有出来, 本文将简短地描述1）有助发展成功bid的已经存在的因素, 2）临床以及管理方面的复杂心理过程的”真实情况研究”元素, 3）以及人工系统家庭治理的建构。本文还提供了生活在这样一种大的的尝试下的一些意想不到事件的例子。 对实践者有用的几点建议: 大的尝试发展自小的研究, 临床工作者急需寻找研究合作者的机会困难事件需要及时解决, 不然就会对有效尝试管理产生重要影响研究活力和”真实生活”实践的平衡是一种不可避免的引起紧张的领域, 这需要对当下和结果的同时考虑 关键词：实证实践, 研究, 儿童和青少年精神健康, 培训 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]