Children and Families

About us

The focus of the work of the Children and Families Research Group is around children, young people and family wellbeing. Our research around children covers the prenatal period, up to age 18 years. It includes research on safeguarding, child protection, child health, looked-after children, and the role of the family unit including parenting, school, and community influences on child and family wellbeing.

We are interested in research that makes a difference to the lives of children and families and improves health and wellbeing outcomes. Our family-focused research covers additional topics such as domestic violence and abuse, family community services and the development of resilience.

Our work takes place in family homes, hospitals, schools and with the wider community including health, social care and third sector services. Regular meetings of the Children and Families Research Group bring together researchers, students, academics and practitioners who have an interest in children, young people and family wellbeing and who wish to develop research and influence policy and practice in this area. Our research has been funded by a range of organisations. The OxCAF_research Group works closely with the Institute of Public Care at Oxford Brookes University.

Girl talking to a social worker

Part of

Leadership

Dr Sarah Bekaert

Senior Lecturer

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Membership

Name	Role	Email
Katy Burch	Assistant Director	kburch@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Jane Carpenter	Programme Lead, Midwifery and Lead Midwife for Education	jane.carpenter@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Georgia Cook	Research Fellow	gcook@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Elizabeth Jestico	Senior Lecturer in Children's Nursing	ejestico@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Kathy Mumby-Croft	Lecturer in Adult Nursing	kmumby-croft@brookes.ac.uk
Professor Louise Taylor	Professor of Education and Student Experience	louise.e.taylor@brookes.ac.uk

Name	Thesis Title	Supervisors	Completed
Helen Bosley	Maternal Attitudes to Antibiotic Use: A Community Based Case Study		Active
Dr Sharon Brownie	Nursing and Health Service Leadership: The Power to Influence	Professor Debra Jackson	2021
Georgia Cook	Parental influences on children’s sleep	Professor Luci Wiggs	2019
Samantha Jane Donohue	What is the experince of professional enjoyment in nursing?		2022
Monica Duman	How are chronologies and neglect assessment tools used by health and social care practitioners to identify and assess child neglect?	Dr Sarah Bekaert	2023
Briony Enser	Alcohol Driven Harm to Others	Professor David Foxcroft	2018
Kimberley Harcourt	Weight loss and weight loss maintenance using exercise, nutrition and behaviour change strategies among an overweight/obese, pre-diabetic adult population		2019
Lauren Harding	How do school nurses identify and work with school-aged children at risk of child abuse and neglect?	Dr Sarah Bekaert	2020
Jon Hyslop	How Do Peer Networks Enable Service Users and Informal Careers to Obtain and Manage Personal Budgets		2019
Elizabeth Jestico	What are parents’ experiences of being supported by significant others, when faced with making decisions about their child’s cancer case? A phenomenological study		Active
Karen Lascelles	Experiences and Support Needs of Adult Carers of Adults at Risk of Suicide: A Mixed Methods Doctoral Research Study		2022
Claire Litchfield	Is the use of water immersion for women in labour or giving birth both safe and effective as a method for improving rates of normal birth for women who are obese?	Dr Jane Carpenter, Dr Louise Hunter	Active
Catherine Lowenhoff	Moving on from ‘Listening Visits’: a mixed methods, multi-phase study exploring the support that health visitors provide to mothers with mental health problems		Active
Mark Mason	The illegal drug use behaviours and social circumstances of older adult regular Class A drug users		2015
Elaine Strachan-Hall	Robots in Nursing: False Rhetoric or Future Reality?		2022
Fiona Tierney	Families’ experience of using sleep-related routines with their young children	Dr Georgia Cook, Professor Anna Barnett, Professor Luci Wiggs	2023
Suzanne Watts	An exploration of the referral and communication systems between primary health care professionals and children's social care services		Active
Diana Yardley	An exploration of health care professionals’ perceptions of non-medical factors affecting management of Type 1 diabetes in children	Dr Olga Kozlowska, Dr Sarah Bekaert	Active

Projects

Project title and description	Investigator(s)	Funder(s)	Dates
Mitigating the harms of maternal related Adverse Child Experiences This project looks at which health visiting models in England are most promising for mitigating the harms of maternal related Adverse Child Experiences.	Professor Ruth Gilbert, Dr Katie Harron, Dr Jenny Woodman	NIHR	From: February 2022 Until: January 2026

Project title and description	Investigator(s)	Funder(s)	Dates
ERICA Stopping Child Maltreatment through Pan-European Multiprofessional Training Programme: Early Child Protection Work with Families at Risk.	Alex Baldacchino, Eija Paavilainen	European Commission	From: December 2019 Until: December 2021
A synthesis of the evidence for effective parenting support	Dr Helen Aveyard, Dr Kathy Mumby-Croft	Public Health England	From: March 2021 Until: January 2022
Evaluating the Navigator Project Trauma informed support for young people attending the Emergency Department as a result of violence.	Dr Sarah Bekaert	Brookes Research Excellence Award	From: August 2021 Until: March 2022
Think Baby - Take 2		Brookes Research Excellence Award	From: April 2022 Until: September 2022
Using data and technology to support survivors of domestic violence	Professor Caroline Bradbury-Jones, Dr Joht Singh Chandan	NIHR	From: June 2021 Until: August 2022
Protecting children and young people vulnerable to harm and abuse Learning from School of Nursing practices and new ways of working in the Covid-19 pandemic.	Dr Sarah Bekaert	GNCT	From: September 2021 Until: August 2022

Seminars and events

The Children and Families Research Group host a seminar series in Semester 1 of each academic year. We are grateful to all of our speakers and to the many staff, students and professionals who enthusiastically support these events.

Our first seminar in Semester 1 2021/22:

Virtual seminar

How has a think family approach been put into practice when responding to vulnerable children: a scoping review and illustrative qualitative study?

15 September 2021, 1.00-2.00pm
Dr Jenny Woodman, Associate Professor in Child and Family Policy, UCL Institute of Social Research and Thomas Coram Research Unit

If you would like to attend, please contact Professor Jane Appleton or Dr Sarah Bekaert.

Publications

Appleton J.V. (2021) Editorial: Vulnerable Children and Early Intervention: What about Health Visiting? Child Abuse Review. 30 (2): 89-97. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/car.2686
Bekaert, S & Appleton JV. (2021) Ch 60 Intimate Partner Violence in Teen Relationships, in The Sage Handbook of Domestic Violence. Edited by Shackelford T.K,
Whittaker K, Appleton J.V., Peckover, S. and Adams C. (2021) Organising health visiting services in the UK: Frontline perspectives. Journal of Health Visiting 9 (2): https://doi.org/10.12968/johv.2021.9.2.68
Bosley H, Appleton JV, Henshall C, Jackson D. (2020). The influence of perceived accessibility and expertise of healthcare professionals, and service austerity, on mothers' decision-making. Health Soc Care Community. 29 (2): 526-534. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13115
Cook G, Appleton J.V. and Wiggs L. (2020) 'Parentally reported barriers to seeking help and advice for child sleep from healthcare professionals' Child: Care, Health and Development. ISSN: 0305-1862 eISSN: 1365-2214.
Harding L, Bekeart S. and Appleton J.V. (2020) Exploring the challenges of using electronic health record systems in nursing research. Nurse Researcher. 9 April. doi: 10.7748/nr.2020.e1695.
Harding L, Davison-Fischer J, Bekeart S. and Appleton J.V. (2019) The role of the school nurse in protecting children and young people from maltreatment: An integrative review of the literature. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 92: 60-72.
Bekaert, S and Bradly, J. 2019. The Increasingly Leaky Stigma of the ‘Pregnant Teen’: When Does ‘Young Motherhood’ Cease to be Problematic? Studies in the Maternal, 11(1): 8, pp. 1–8. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.16995/sim.267 https://www.mamsie.bbk.ac.uk/articles/10.16995/sim.267/
Appleton J., Powell C. & Coombes L. (2016) Children's missed healthcare appointments: professional and organisational responses. Arch Dis Child. 0:1–5. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2015-309621