Attachment is important and is associated with many of children's mental health and behavioural outcomes. If you aren't convinced I invite you to watch our other clips from our "Attachment Masterclass" available on the pPOD website!

However if we aim to improve children's  outcomes as a whole there may be other influences to consider. Professor Stephen Scott points us to other possible enduring consequences of poor parenting including ill-adaptive habits such as poor diet and low exercise that will have an obviously adverse effect on children.

​Last week, Rajinder and I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to present the work of Healthy Start Happy Start at the North East London Foundation Trust’s 16th Annual R&D Open Day. The day drew together leading healthcare researchers and professionals who presented on the latest developments in research within the trust. 

It was such a treat to hear about research areas outside of our own, with topics including an intervention aimed at supporting people with personality disorder to obtain and retain employment (EMPOWER; Dr Janet Feigenbaum), and cognitive remediation therapy for people experiencing non-affective psychosis (ECLIPSE; Prof. Eileen Joyce), as well as a couple of interesting talks on the development of effective home support and care-quality measures for people with dementia (Dr Paul Clarkson and Clarissa Giebel).

​Professor Pasco Fearon also gave an overview of his upcoming feasibility study which looks to implement a modified version of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting (VIPP) for children with reactive attachment disorder and their foster carers. Given that we too are using VIPP on the Healthy Start Happy Start trial, it was great to be reminded of the versatility of the VIPP-programme and how it can be adapted to fit different populations. I’m so looking forward to following the progress of the study as it gets underway!

​Rajinder and I were then up to talk about the progress of the Healthy Start Happy Start study. Presenting to the dedicated healthcare professionals working within North East London Foundation Trust felt particularly relevant given that some of the NELFT Healthy Start Happy Start recruitment and VIPP-programme team were part of the audience. It was a pleasure to outline just how far the study has progressed, which would not have been possible without their support and skill. 

We ended the day attending a couple of workshops – one on conducting and implementing research in clinical settings and another on adapting interventions for culture and context; both felt very applicable to the work we are doing! For me, the workshops were a highlight as it really allowed the vast expanse of varied experience that the conference attendees brought to be heard and learnt from.
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The day drew to a close with Prof. Peter Fonagy really emphasising the unique and fundamental place of research and development departments within NHS trusts. Overall, it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to present within a fantastic line-up of speakers, and to learn from the range of roles brought together by the day.  

Author: Beth Barker