Lifestart

Title

The Lifestart Study (formerly The Ladybird Study)

This research is being conducted jointly by the Institute of Child Care Research and the School of Education, QUB

Principal Investigators:  Dr Laura Dunne and Dr Sarah Miller

Supervisors:  Dr Kathryn Higgins and Professor Paul Connolly

Research Team:  Sharon Millen, Clare McGeady, Jenny Robinson

Funder: Lifestart Foundation Ltd  through The Atlantic Philanthropies

The Lifestart study aims to evaluate the process and outcomes of the Lifestart programme in Ireland using a mixed-method approach in order to provide a methodologically rigorous evaluation which is ‘gold-standard’.  This will include working in partnership with the projects, parents and children to ensure that the data collection and interpretation of the results reflects their experiences of Lifestart and offers a true measure of its impact.

Lifestart is a structured child-centred programme that provides age-appropriate information and practical activity for parents of children from birth to five years of age. it is delivered by 19 projects to parents in their own homes by trained, paid Family Visitors and it is offered to any parent with a child aged from birth to five years regardless of social, economic or other circumstances.

Research Questions and Outcomes: The following research questions will be addressed:

1. What is the Lifestart programme and how is it delivered?A process evaluation will address this first question and will comprise of qualitative and quantitative analyses of the organizational structure of Lifestart, its modus operandi in different contexts and an analysis of unmet need.

2. What are the effects of the Lifestart programme on parent and child outcomes?
This second research question will be addressed by a study of outcomes in parents and children which will consist of:
a. a longitudinal, randomised controlled trial (RCT) of quantitative outcomes of parents and children
b. a qualitative exploration of outcomes from parent, child and Lifestart perspectives.

Anticipated outcomes from the study include:

1. Production of a model that can be used to assess the impact of a wide range of interventions and not just home-based family programmes like Lifestart

2. Wide and varied dissemination to policymakers in childhood development, education, professionals in statutory and voluntary sectors, parents and those concerned with families generally

3. Clear recommendations for Lifestart and Government agencies.