Sharing Stories for Wellbeing: Building Diverse Communities of Care for Children in Hospital

What We Do

Introduction

Our research team is using arts-based research to listen to children and their families to discover how stories can support children’s wellbeing during extended or repeated hospital admissions.

Our Objective

Our goal is to develop more effective ways to listen to children and their families in hospital.

Why Stories Matter?

Existing research supports the value of stories in hospital, from better mental health to improved outcomes for medical procedures. With increasing attention to children’s health and wellbeing, and the growing demand on children and youth services in the NHS, we need to better understand how shifting policies, like those implemented after the covid-19 pandemic, are affecting children’s abilities to feel connected to their wider community while in hospital.

How Can You Help?

We’re just embarking on the research for this study, and want to connect with as many children with long-term health conditions that have required frequent or long-term hospitalisation as possible. We want to understand more about the issues that matter most to children and young people, and connect with the adults who support children in hospital (from parents and carers, to hospital staff, to policymakers).

What Are We Doing Now?

Our goal is to ensure children’s voices are at the heart of any national discussions about children’s health and wellbeing.We are holding a number of creative sessions across October in Newcastle to begin shaping our key research questions. For more details, check out our events page.