| abstract: |
The European Commission and other funding agencies make a large investment in child health research. The health of our children is satisfactory, but there are serious concerns, for example, obesity, mental health, alcohol abuse, and sexuality. We know that there are strong links between the health of young people and their social inclusion and level of education. Our objective is to establish a sustainable network for researchers, funders, policy makers, advocates and young people in Europe, to support collaboration in developing the future of child health research. We will produce an inventory of research, and reports, on gaps in research, and on roadmaps for the future of research. Our co-ordination will establish a unique, open, multi-lingual platform for child health research. This will embrace the full multi-disciplinary diversity of European research, while addressing fragmentation by making the parts visible, and supporting multi-lingual input and searching. We will develop formal processes for finding gaps in research, and for making roadmaps. We will use these to find current gaps, and make roadmaps for the future, including for the necessary research capacity. We will promote our work and our results in a series of meetings open to researchers and other stakeholders. Our consortium is a multi-disciplinary team, with great experience in doing innovative child health research in Europe, in developing, and in delivering child health strategies at national, and European level. This mixture of skills and experience gives us a unique perspective on the strategic problems at European level. We have an Expert Group, including young people, advocates, and researchers who will support us. RICHE will support the development and implementation of child health research strategies, and the use of evidence for child health action. These in turn will support innovative research, improve social policy for children, and so improve the quality of life of European children. |
