Evaluation of m-ADBB and ADBB within UK health visiting teams
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A mixed methods evaluation of the expansion of the m-ADBB and ADBB training programme within health-visiting teams across the UK
IRAS ID
353240
Contact name
Sharin Baldwin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Institute of Health Visiting
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) is a validated observation tool, designed to identify social withdrawal behaviour in babies (1,2,3). A shortened modified version of the scale (m-ADBB) is also available for ease of application within routine practice (4). Up until recently neither had been tested in the UK context. In 2024, the Institute of Health Visiting, in partnership with the University of Oxford, carried out a small scale mixed methods feasibility and acceptability study of using the ADBB and m-ADBB within routine health visiting practice in two National Health Service (NHS) sites in England (5,6). The findings suggested that the ADBB/m-ADBB was perceived to have enhanced the health visitors’ skill set and knowledge in carrying out observations of babies. The m-ADBB was reported to require minimal additional time and effort to incorporate into the routine activities carried out by health visitors at the 6-8 week contact and was also found to be highly acceptable by health visitors. Recommendations from the study included the need to further align the training to the UK context and research to be carried out across a wider range of sites across the UK to include the devolved nations.
This study therefore aims to roll out the m-ADBB and ADBB training programme across a larger number of UK sites and evaluate the impact of this expansion on practice, outcomes of referrals and acceptability to parents.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
25/WA/0049
Date of REC Opinion
19 Feb 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion