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Born in Bradford study provides key to improving life chances of Bradford babies

Born in Bradford study provides key to improving life chances of Bradford babies

Posted on 17 June 2014

Born in Bradford - one of the biggest and most important medical research studies in the UK - has helped Bradford Trident secure a £50 million Big Lottery Fund award to improve the life chances of some of the most deprived families in Bradford.

The Born in Bradford study, in which the University of York plays a pivotal role, has been tracking the lives of 13,500 babies and their families since 2007, exploring why some children stay healthy but others fall ill.

Information collected from children in the Born in Bradford cohort, and the unique understanding the study provides of the challenges faced by Bradford families, guided the selection of the key themes in the Bradford Trident bid around environmental changes, nutrition, obesity, communication and language development.

Bradford Trident will use the award from the Big Lottery Fund’s A Better Start: Fulfilling Lives programme to implement its Better Start Bradford programme - a community-led partnership which will run a variety of projects and initiatives to support families and children at key stages of their early years development.

Part of the programme will involve Born in Bradford hosting an Innovation Hub, led by Professor Kate Pickett from the University of York, to develop innovative solutions to improve health. This will include a new cohort of over 7,000 pregnant mums living in the Better Start Bradford areas of Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton to evaluate the impact of the Better Start Bradford Programme.

Dr Rosie McEachan, Born in Bradford Programme Manager, said: “We are excited to be a part of this amazing programme to improve the lives of families in Bradford. The Born in Bradford project is one built on genuine engagement from families, researchers and health professionals. That we have been able to use the findings from the project in such a positive way to help Bradford win a massive project to improve life chance is a real achievement that everyone should be proud of.”

Recent Born in Bradford studies have shown that high air pollution causes babies to be born at a low birth weight and that a good diet and good mental well-being in mothers are vital to good development in babies. These, and other important Born in Bradford findings, are already being used to improve family health and well-being in Bradford.

The new Innovation Hub will unite leading academics from the Universities of York, Bradford, Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University.

Professor Kate Pickett, from the University of York’s Department of Health Sciences, who is also on the Born in Bradford Executive Committee, said: "I am very pleased that Yorkshire universities and the Born in Bradford study team will work with Bradford Trident and local communities to support research and innovation to improve the lives of pregnant women and young children in the Better Start Bradford programme."

Bradford was one of five areas to receive a share of£215m awarded by the Big Lottery Fund’s A Better Start: Fulfilling Lives programme. The other areas were Lambeth, Southend, Nottingham and Blackpool.

Further information:

Born in Bradford is one of the biggest and most important medical research studies undertaken in the UK.The project started in 2007 and is looking to answer questions about the city’s health by tracking the lives of nearly 14,000 babies and their families from across the Bradford district. The aim of Born in Bradford is to find out more about the causes of childhood illness by studying children from all cultures and backgrounds as their lives unfold. It will provide vital research information for studies across the UK and around the world. Born in Bradford will continue to follow the children until they are adults, and help doctors to understand more about the big health challenges of the 21st Century such as heart disease, mental health and cancer. The Born in Bradford project has the potential to promote real change at a local level and also make major contributions to global knowledge: our children may be born in Bradford, but they will change the world. Born in Bradford is led by Professor John Wright and the research team is based at the Bradford Institute for Health Research at Bradford Royal Infirmary. Born in Bradford is hosted and supported by the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. www.borninbradford.nhs.uk/
For more information on the University of York’s Department of Health Sciences visit www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences
The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for giving out 40 per cent of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery. The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 the Fund has awarded close to £6bn.The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006. In the year ending 31 March 2013, 28 per cent of total National Lottery revenue was returned to the Good Causes. Since the National Lottery began in 1994, over £31 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk