No Cover Image

Journal article 209 views 3 downloads

Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD

Eliazar Luna, Lucy Griffiths Orcid Logo, Karen Broadhurst OBE, Dougal Hargreaves, Jenny Woodman, Lisa Holmes, Kat Tranter, Grace A. Bailey, Katie Harron

Child Abuse & Neglect, Volume: 173, Start page: 107916

Swansea University Author: Lucy Griffiths Orcid Logo

  • 71385.VoR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2026 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.

    Download (4.54MB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.107916

Abstract

BackgroundChildren in contact with children's social care (CSC) services have high levels of hospital utilisation, but patterns before and after referral remain insufficiently understood.ObjectiveTo evaluate healthcare utilisation two years before and after CSC referral.Participants and setting...

Full description

Published in: Child Abuse & Neglect
ISSN: 0145-2134
Published: Elsevier BV 2026
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71385
first_indexed 2026-02-04T08:30:34Z
last_indexed 2026-03-13T05:24:49Z
id cronfa71385
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-03-12T14:29:49.7878171</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>71385</id><entry>2026-02-04</entry><title>Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93</sid><ORCID>0000-0001-9230-624X</ORCID><firstname>Lucy</firstname><surname>Griffiths</surname><name>Lucy Griffiths</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2026-02-04</date><deptcode>MEDS</deptcode><abstract>BackgroundChildren in contact with children's social care (CSC) services have high levels of hospital utilisation, but patterns before and after referral remain insufficiently understood.ObjectiveTo evaluate healthcare utilisation two years before and after CSC referral.Participants and settingRetrospective cohort using ECHILD linked health and social care data, including children with a first CSC referral between 2009 and 2018 in England.MethodsWe compared monthly planned and unplanned hospital contact rates for Children in Need, Children under Protection Plans, and Children Looked After with age-sex-matched cohorts. We used interrupted time series analysis to examine how healthcare utilisation changed following referral. We also explored reasons for hospital contacts.ResultsWe analysed &gt;12 million hospital contacts for 1,014,330 Children in Need, 204,240 Children under Protection Plan and 177,640 Children Looked After. Children Looked After had the highest average number of total contacts (11.8 per child over a 4 year period), followed by Children in Need (8.8) and Children under Protection Plans (8.4). All CSC groups had about twice the contacts of matched peers. Healthcare utilisation increased sharply prior to referral, with a peak around referral. After referral, planned care increased and unplanned care decreased, with pre referral upward trends slowing or reversing. The most common reason for healthcare utilisation was mental health&#x2013;related.ConclusionsAt a population level, CSC referral marks a pivotal point in healthcare utilisation, with a shift from unplanned to planned care. This may reflect more structured engagement with health services and coordinated support for children and families.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Child Abuse &amp;amp; Neglect</journal><volume>173</volume><journalNumber/><paginationStart>107916</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Elsevier BV</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>0145-2134</issnPrint><issnElectronic/><keywords>Children&amp;apos;s social care; Healthcare utilisation; Interrupted time series; Hospital contacts; Administrative data</keywords><publishedDay>1</publishedDay><publishedMonth>3</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2026</publishedYear><publishedDate>2026-03-01</publishedDate><doi>10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.107916</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Medical School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>MEDS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Another institution paid the OA fee</apcterm><funders>This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the ADR England Community Catalyst: Children at risk of poor outcomes (ES/Y010566/1).</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-03-12T14:29:49.7878171</lastEdited><Created>2026-02-04T08:27:05.3137144</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences</level><level id="2">Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Eliazar</firstname><surname>Luna</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Lucy</firstname><surname>Griffiths</surname><orcid>0000-0001-9230-624X</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Karen Broadhurst</firstname><surname>OBE</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Dougal</firstname><surname>Hargreaves</surname><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Jenny</firstname><surname>Woodman</surname><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Lisa</firstname><surname>Holmes</surname><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Kat</firstname><surname>Tranter</surname><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Grace A.</firstname><surname>Bailey</surname><order>8</order></author><author><firstname>Katie</firstname><surname>Harron</surname><order>9</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>71385__36401__2a0d858652854794abe0efc099afd61b.pdf</filename><originalFilename>71385.VoR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2026-03-12T14:27:42.4066270</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>4757044</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; 2026 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language><licence>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</licence></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2026-03-12T14:29:49.7878171 v2 71385 2026-02-04 Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93 0000-0001-9230-624X Lucy Griffiths Lucy Griffiths true false 2026-02-04 MEDS BackgroundChildren in contact with children's social care (CSC) services have high levels of hospital utilisation, but patterns before and after referral remain insufficiently understood.ObjectiveTo evaluate healthcare utilisation two years before and after CSC referral.Participants and settingRetrospective cohort using ECHILD linked health and social care data, including children with a first CSC referral between 2009 and 2018 in England.MethodsWe compared monthly planned and unplanned hospital contact rates for Children in Need, Children under Protection Plans, and Children Looked After with age-sex-matched cohorts. We used interrupted time series analysis to examine how healthcare utilisation changed following referral. We also explored reasons for hospital contacts.ResultsWe analysed >12 million hospital contacts for 1,014,330 Children in Need, 204,240 Children under Protection Plan and 177,640 Children Looked After. Children Looked After had the highest average number of total contacts (11.8 per child over a 4 year period), followed by Children in Need (8.8) and Children under Protection Plans (8.4). All CSC groups had about twice the contacts of matched peers. Healthcare utilisation increased sharply prior to referral, with a peak around referral. After referral, planned care increased and unplanned care decreased, with pre referral upward trends slowing or reversing. The most common reason for healthcare utilisation was mental health–related.ConclusionsAt a population level, CSC referral marks a pivotal point in healthcare utilisation, with a shift from unplanned to planned care. This may reflect more structured engagement with health services and coordinated support for children and families. Journal Article Child Abuse &amp; Neglect 173 107916 Elsevier BV 0145-2134 Children&apos;s social care; Healthcare utilisation; Interrupted time series; Hospital contacts; Administrative data 1 3 2026 2026-03-01 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.107916 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the ADR England Community Catalyst: Children at risk of poor outcomes (ES/Y010566/1). 2026-03-12T14:29:49.7878171 2026-02-04T08:27:05.3137144 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science Eliazar Luna 1 Lucy Griffiths 0000-0001-9230-624X 2 Karen Broadhurst OBE 3 Dougal Hargreaves 4 Jenny Woodman 5 Lisa Holmes 6 Kat Tranter 7 Grace A. Bailey 8 Katie Harron 9 71385__36401__2a0d858652854794abe0efc099afd61b.pdf 71385.VoR.pdf 2026-03-12T14:27:42.4066270 Output 4757044 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
spellingShingle Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
Lucy Griffiths
title_short Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
title_full Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
title_fullStr Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
title_full_unstemmed Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
title_sort Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England: An interrupted time series using ECHILD
author_id_str_mv e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93
author_id_fullname_str_mv e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93_***_Lucy Griffiths
author Lucy Griffiths
author2 Eliazar Luna
Lucy Griffiths
Karen Broadhurst OBE
Dougal Hargreaves
Jenny Woodman
Lisa Holmes
Kat Tranter
Grace A. Bailey
Katie Harron
format Journal article
container_title Child Abuse &amp; Neglect
container_volume 173
container_start_page 107916
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0145-2134
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.107916
publisher Elsevier BV
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description BackgroundChildren in contact with children's social care (CSC) services have high levels of hospital utilisation, but patterns before and after referral remain insufficiently understood.ObjectiveTo evaluate healthcare utilisation two years before and after CSC referral.Participants and settingRetrospective cohort using ECHILD linked health and social care data, including children with a first CSC referral between 2009 and 2018 in England.MethodsWe compared monthly planned and unplanned hospital contact rates for Children in Need, Children under Protection Plans, and Children Looked After with age-sex-matched cohorts. We used interrupted time series analysis to examine how healthcare utilisation changed following referral. We also explored reasons for hospital contacts.ResultsWe analysed >12 million hospital contacts for 1,014,330 Children in Need, 204,240 Children under Protection Plan and 177,640 Children Looked After. Children Looked After had the highest average number of total contacts (11.8 per child over a 4 year period), followed by Children in Need (8.8) and Children under Protection Plans (8.4). All CSC groups had about twice the contacts of matched peers. Healthcare utilisation increased sharply prior to referral, with a peak around referral. After referral, planned care increased and unplanned care decreased, with pre referral upward trends slowing or reversing. The most common reason for healthcare utilisation was mental health–related.ConclusionsAt a population level, CSC referral marks a pivotal point in healthcare utilisation, with a shift from unplanned to planned care. This may reflect more structured engagement with health services and coordinated support for children and families.
published_date 2026-03-01T05:32:33Z
_version_ 1860067240139816960
score 11.099567

Similar Items