Session 1: Children
Résumé
Improving child health and reducing health inequalities is a priority for public health. There are large inequalities in child health between and within countries in Europe. Generally speaking, the causes of these health inequalities are the same across different countries, and reflect differences between socioeconomic groups in poverty, power and resources needed for health; exposure to health damaging environments; and differences in opportunities to enjoy positive health factors, importantly giving children the best start in life. We know that socio-economic disadvantage worsens child health, and poor child health tracks forward to influence health and development in later life. Thus a life course perspective is particularly important when developing public policies. In this lecture I’ll present an overview of the work we’ve been involved with to better understand pathways to inequalities in child mental health across a range of datasets; and our work to influence policies to improve child health outcomes, for instance our work on post-COVID recovery through the “Child of the North” initiative.
David Taylor-Robinson
David Taylor-Robinson is a Professor of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, and affiliate Professor of Child Public Health at the University of Copenhagen. He originally trained in paediatrics and works clinically as a Consultant in Public Health at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. He holds the W.H. Duncan Chair of Health Inequalities and is also an NIHR Research Professor. His research aims to improve child health and reduce inequalities. His current work focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of health inequalities in children and assessing the impact of interventions and policies to interrupt the generation of inequalities in health across the life course. David Taylor-Robinson led the “Child of the North” initiative, focussed on post-COVID levelling up for child health and wellbeing in England.
