A 'pockets' approach to addressing financial vulnerability

This briefing paper outlines recent evidence on financial vulnerability among families in Scotland, and draws on the Healthier, Wealthier Children case study as an example of action that could help families both at risk of, and experiencing, poverty

The influence of poverty on children's school experiences : pupils' perspectives

This study examined the potential influence of policies and practices on the ability of children from low-income families to participate fully in the school day. Pupils from six schools participated in 71 focus groups and revealed a range of barriers affecting their school experience: transport costs and limited support; clothing costs, stigma and enforcement of school dress codes; material barriers to learning at school and home; concerns about free school meals; missing out on school trips, clubs and events. Findings on school uniform were an important catalyst towards a recent policy change in Scotland in increasing the school clothing grant

Right Here Right Now (RHRN) pilot study: testing a method of near-real-time data collection on the social determinants of health

Background: Informing policy and practice with up-to-date evidence on the social determinants of health is an ongoing challenge. One limitation of traditional approaches is the time-lag between identification of a policy or practice need and availability of results. The Right Here Right Now (RHRN) study piloted a near-real-time data-collection process to investigate whether this gap could be bridged. Methods: A website was developed to facilitate the issue of questions, data capture and presentation of findings. Respondents were recruited using two distinct methods – a clustered random probability sample, and a quota sample from street stalls. Weekly four-part questions were issued by email, Short Messaging Service (SMS or text) or post. Quantitative data were descriptively summarised, qualitative data thematically analysed, and a summary report circulated two weeks after each question was issued. The pilot spanned 26 weeks. Results: It proved possible to recruit and retain a panel of respondents providing quantitative and qualitative data on a range of issues. The samples were subject to similar recruitment and response biases as more traditional data-collection approaches. Participants valued the potential to influence change, and stakeholders were enthusiastic about the findings generated, despite reservations about the lack of sample representativeness. Stakeholders acknowledged that decision-making processes are not flexible enough to respond to weekly evidence. Conclusion: RHRN produced a process for collecting near-real-time data for policy-relevant topics, although obtaining and maintaining representative samples was problematic. Adaptations were identified to inform a more sustainable model of near-real-time data collection and dissemination in the future

Addressing child poverty in Scotland: the role of nurses

Child poverty levels are a significant challenge and can lead to poor health outcomes throughout life. The Healthier, Wealthier Children (HWC) project was set up to address child poverty by developing referral and information pathways between healthcare staff and money and welfare advice services. Evaluation of the project revealed 2,516 referrals to advice services, with most coming from health visitors and midwives. This yielded financial gains of more than £2.25 million and other positive outcomes, such as help with childcare and housing

Right Here Right Now Study: Final Report

This report outlines the findings of the Right Here Right Now (RHRN) pilot study, a 6-month study of the feasibility of using near ‘real-time’ data collection to capture and communicate people’s lived experiences. Right Here Right Now arose from concerns within the Public Health community about the growing need for more timely information on how current economic and social changes are affecting people’s lives, to better support policy responses. The rapidly-evolving policy landscape also poses challenges for policy-makers and practitioners as traditional methods of evidence-generation cannot keep pace with such rapid developments. RHRN sought to help bridge the gap between data collection and generation of evidence, by testing ways of providing policy-makers with new forms of evidence on the impacts of social and economic changes brought about by welfare reforms, a changing labour market and austerity measures. The vision of RHRN was to establish and run a dynamic data collection, interpretation and dissemination process that can be used to better understand people’s experiences of a range of influences on their everyday lives. The report describes the approaches taken to: establishing effective and efficient ways of capturing near to ‘real-time’ lived experience data; answering important research questions quickly to promote better understanding of how people are responding to events; and helping to inform decision-making by providing valid and useful data to key stakeholders and participants in near ‘real-time’. It also outlines the findings of an evaluation of processes and outcomes involved in the delivery of RHRN and discusses how the insights and learning from this 6-month pilot can inform future design of studies aimed at providing timely evidence on lived experiences to aid decision-making