Significant progress has been made since the beginning of the project, with eight papers published in both high-rank economic outlets (e.g. Journal of Public Economics) and top non-economic journals (e.g. Lancet); two chapters published in an economic handbook and an interdisciplinary book; three policy briefs/opinion pieces published in relation to the impacts of COVID-19 on the early years; and several other papers submitted or in progress.
Some of the main results achieved to date – just to mention only the published papers - are as follows. I have contributed to a paradigm shift in the timing of interventions by showing (in a major Lancet paper with an interdisciplinary group of top co-authors) the key importance of preconception health in human development; and shown that early home visiting programme can have long-lasting impacts via a variety of mechanisms, including improvements in mother-child interactions (RT2). I have shown that large-scale integrated early interventions can improve children’s health (prevent hospitalizations) in the longer term, and so reduce inequalities, even in the presence of universal health coverage (RT2). I have uncovered the importance of diet composition and quality (in addition to simple caloric intake) as driver of adolescent obesity after prenatal exposure to poor nutrition (RT3). I have shown for the first time that inequality in socio-emotional development in children has significantly increased across cohorts born thirty years apart in the UK (RT4). I have computed for the first time the significant lifecycle costs of child maltreatment in UK (RT4), using a newly developed methodology within an incidence-based approach. I have also uncovered the wide and unequal effects of COVID-19 and of repeated cuts to the public health budget on the health visiting workforce composition, the delivery of public health and health care services, and parental investments and child development in the UK (RT5).
All the research findings have been widely disseminated in academic and policy and practitioners settings alike, and also among the general public. Many of them have received wider dissemination, and not only mentioned in the main press outlets, but also used for submitting evidence to Parliamentary committees – reaching significant impacts. I have also received multiple awards and recognitions for this research.
