A team researching the factors which influence family health has smashed its annual recruitment target in the space of just three months.

The response to the Born and Bred in (BaBi) Hull and East Yorkshire study has been so overwhelming that the research team, based at Hull Royal Infirmary, has signed up more than 400 participants in the space of just 13 weeks.

Sarah Collins, Research Midwife for NHS Humber Health Partnership, says she’s thrilled with the response:

“When we launched the study in early February, our aim was to recruit 400 participants in the space of a year. We knew we were doing well when we managed to engage around a hundred people within four weeks, but the level of interest has continued and now 400 people have signed up to help us look at the issues which influence family health and wellbeing in our area.”

Sarah Collins (left) and Eloise Taylor from the BaBi Hull and East Yorkshire study team

The BaBi Hull and East Yorkshire project will use data held about local people to shape health services or highlight societal changes which could improve long-term health outcomes.

The BaBi project looks at both maternal health and children’s health in their early years. It is seeking to connect up all the information that health, education, social care and other organisations hold about young children and families to try and identify patterns that could drive improvements in the lives of the next generation and beyond.

In Bradford, where the BaBi study first began, the findings have contributed to bus route diversions in areas where pollution and childhood asthma were noted to be high and the creation of more green spaces to promote better mental health.

“Our midwives are doing a great job of explaining the study to parents and the value that their input can add,” Sarah continues.

“Lots of people are asking us why this hasn’t been done before, or whether their other children can take part, which just goes to show how beneficial our participants consider the study to be.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has agreed to help us so far, but it doesn’t stop there, as the more people we can recruit to the study, the more reflective the findings will be.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the results and, over time, the improvements we can make across Hull and East Yorkshire as a result of our work with local parents and children.”

Would you like to join the study? The research team is continuing recruitment to the BaBi study with a revised target of 100 participants per month from hereon. All pregnant women and birthing people booked for care with Hull Women & Children’s Hospital will be invited to take part in the study as a matter of course, but more information is also available on our website:  https://www.hull.nhs.uk/maternity/babi/ or by emailing hyp-tr.research.midwife@nhs.net