ECHOES: Equitable Child Health Opportunities and Education Services
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This research programme aims to create equitable health and development for children in Sweden. The purpose is to examine the compensatory capacity of universal child health and early education services in Sweden and propose models for service provision according to the principles of proportionate universalism.
Details
- Funder: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
Description
Sweden makes major investments in universal child health and early education services. However, inequities in child health have increased. The reason for this paradox, we believe, is that the welfare sector has failed to provide interventions that are proportionate to needs, i.e. proportionate universalism, to reduce differences in exposure and in vulnerabilities to health risks.
The purpose of ECHOES is to examine the compensatory capacity of universal child health and early education services in Sweden. The compensatory capacity is an important part of child health and education services and states that they should compensate for inequalities in children’s backgrounds and give all children equitable opportunities to learn and develop. ECHOES will also propose models for service provision according to the principles of proportionate universalism. ECHOES aims to generate equitable health and development for children in Sweden. The six-year research programme is built on four interrelated yet independent work packages (WPs). By proposing co-designed ways to improve universal child health and early education services according to the principles of proportionate universalism, the results can be implemented in national and local policies and practices.
WP1: Data from registries will be used to combine information on social and economic factors, as well as child health at birth, into a single score reflecting structural vulnerability. Advanced statistical modelling using regional data will be conducted to explore how community health services promote positive outcomes. Relationships between these factors and children's health outcomes will also be examined.
WP2: Community health service provision across different socioeconomic groups will be analysed using the Winkler Index. The current services will be compared to an ideal scenario, using models to estimate health and economic impacts by age 20. Long-term financial benefits of these services will also be calculated, with projections for returns by age 65.
WP3: SWEDI. The Early Development Instrument (EDI), which measures developmental health, is used in this work package to assess preschool performance. A model for adapting and implementing the EDI in Sweden will be developed, followed by a feasibility test and a trial to scale it up. Co-design workshops will support the development of the EDI for effective resource allocation.
WP4: Preschool PPI. This WP focuses on the involvement in research of children in preschools. It aims to develop a toolkit to engage preschool-aged children in research, through interaction with child-focused professionals. The identified tool kit will then be used in preschools, to generate ideas for preschool compensatory activities while the participatory process is evaluated.
ECHOES is run by our multidisciplinary, applied research group Child Health and Parenting (CHAP), with advice from experts in early education and child and youth studies.