How 'early' is Early Intervention (EI)? (1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Parents’ and practitioners' experiences and perceptions about Early Intervention (EI) for children, aged 0 to 6, within the health and welfare sector.
IRAS ID
317715
Contact name
Catherine Phillips
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Kent
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
10.5281/zenodo.6777972, Zenodo
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 3 days
Research summary
This study will explore the meaning that parents and practitioners have about Early Intervention. This will include finding a shared understanding, developing a shared definition, and deciding how 'early' Early Intervention is. This is necessary because defining Early Intervention is difficult. Firstly, there are multiple definitions which focus on positive and negative aspects. The positive aspects include children developing skills for the future. The negative aspects include preventing problems from occurring. Secondly, there are different words that are used, including prevention and 'early help'. Thirdly, there are different views about when families should receive Early Intervention: during pregnancy, after birth or throughout childhood. Fourthly, parents’ views about Early Intervention are rarely sought. Usually, parents are asked about their experiences once a service has been received (for example, home visits or a parenting programme).
This in-depth study will focus on parents and carers who have children under 7 years old; are experiencing problems (for example, domestic abuse or mental ill-health or substance mis-use); and are working with professionals. Professionals will have experience working with families and be employed in a Local Authority (LA), the NHS or a voluntary organisation. Parents and professionals can choose to take part in a focus group with other people or an interview on their own. Each person may be asked to take part in another focus group or interview to provide more detail about their views. Also, the parents and professionals will be asked to comment on the understanding that the researcher has about their views. Each person will be involved in the study for about three hours: this will comprise three, one-hour sessions. The study will commence from 01.09.2022 until 03.03.2023.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0228
Date of REC Opinion
5 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion