The Great Ormond Street Hospital Top Child and Adolescent Health Study

The GOSH top child and adolescent health problems study aims to identify the top health concerns that parents/guardians and paediatricians in a tertiary hospital have for young people in England. The study will be surveying parents/guardians and paediatricians at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), asking them to review and give their impressions from a list of thirty common child and adolescent health issues. Analysis of responses will provide a list of problems that are most important and determine if respondents feel that the NHS England is adequately addressing these problems.

The project was designed with public partnership. The investigators conducted literature reviews, and adopted with permission, a survey instrument used by the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll in Michigan, USA. Some parents were asked to list child and adolescent health problems that they deemed most important. A consensus meeting with experts was held, to select the thirty most common and important public health issues for young people in England, from which the study will identify problems with the highest concern. This project and its intended outcomes will span medical, nursing, research and voluntary services that will improve child and adolescent healthcare provision the UK.

The State of Child Health (SoCH) Report 2017 highlights indicators of child health problems across the four nations of the United Kingdom. There are some polls that were conducted in Australia and USA, investigating the top concerns for child health problems and thus providing a framework onto which to find solutions. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne through its National Child Health Poll established that that excessive screen time was the greatest parental concern, and that the top ten concerns related to modern lifestyle, mental health and child safety. Similarly, the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on children's health selected a national sample of adults to identify health topics that are a "big problem" for children and teenagers. The 2017 report identified bullying/cyberbullying as the greatest concern. However there is no available evidence about studies being conducted in the United Kingdom to find out what parents/guardians and paediatricians report as the top child and adolescent health problems.

The information would be valuable to the health professionals at the point of care, as well as the national healthcare system. This study analyses information from groups on both the supply and demand side of child and adolescent healthcare. Understanding the different perceptions of child and adolescent health problems between healthcare professionals and parents/guardians can lead to improved follow-up care and compliance with advice. Information from this study can be used as a basis for the establishment of a UK national poll that would further investigate public concerns for child health.

Inclusion criteria

• Parents/Guardians attending GOSH NHS Foundation Trust Outpatients
• Paediatricians practicing at GOSH

Exclusion criteria

• Parents/Guardians and Paediatricians outside the GOSH or NHS England
• Children aged under 18 years old
• Inpatients
• Parents/Guardians who cannot communicate in English and do not have an interpreter
• Participants who have previously responded to the questionnaire
• Outpatient coordinator or Nurse in Charge feels that the potential participant may be vulnerable, or have complex issues.