COVID-19: Families, children aged 0-4 and pregnant women: vulnerabilities, resources and recovery in Tower Hamlets
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Social Science
Abstract
Adverse direct and indirect impacts of the current COVID-19 pandemic will disproportionately fall on individuals and families from poorer backgrounds, those in public facing jobs and living in higher density housing. Tower Hamlets, the site of this study, with its pre-existing stark income and health inequalities is already a high-risk inner city area, placed in one of the richest global cities. This project will focus on the impacts of the lockdown, and its aftermath for the borough's young children, who are likely to experience new health and educational inequalities as a result of the unprecedented restrictions on mobility associated with slowing the spread of COVID-19 introduced on 23 March 2020. Tower Hamlets has a highly diverse population profile, with residents from a wide range of ethnicities and social and economic backgrounds, which offers an opportunity to identify how families deploy their interpersonal, economic and social resources to manage risks associated with living in lockdown and in recovery from lockdown. In close partnership with the borough Public Health and children's services team, we will run a repeat survey of 2000 couple and single parent families with children aged 0-4, and pregnant women; a longitudinal qualitative panel with approximately 60 household members including fathers and wider kin; and examine changing family support services, and emergent community resources such as mutual aid and peer networks. We are interested in families' cultural and inter-personal assets as well as their vulnerabilities: what new forms of managing family and community life have emerged and how are these novel methods helping young children? We will include two groups defined as vulnerable; pregnant women and shielded children. The survey tools chosen are those being run by the concurrent Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort study and by the International Network on Leave Policies and Research offering robust comparisons. Findings will help guide the borough's deployment of scarce resources in the recovery phase of the pandemic and will have relevance to all inner-city areas.
Publications
Cameron C
(2022)
Young children's lives in East London through the pandemic: Relationships, activities and social worlds
in Children & Society
Cameron C
(2022)
Young children's lives in East London through the pandemic: Relationships, activities and social worlds
in Children & Society
Cameron C
(2022)
Income, ethnic diversity and family life in East London during the first wave of the pandemic: An assets approach
in Journal of Family Research
Cameron C
(2022)
Income, ethnic diversity and family life in East London during the first wave of the pandemic: An assets approach
in Journal of Family Research
McIvor C
(2022)
The Impact of the Pandemic on Mental Health in Ethnically Diverse Mothers: Findings from the Born in Bradford, Tower Hamlets and Newham COVID-19 Research Programmes.
in International journal of environmental research and public health
Whitaker L
(2021)
What Family Circumstances, During COVID-19, Impact on Parental Mental Health in an Inner City Community in London?
in Frontiers in Psychiatry
Whitaker L
(2021)
What Family Circumstances, During COVID-19, Impact on Parental Mental Health in an Inner City Community in London?
in Frontiers in Psychiatry
| Description | • Rates of mental health difficulties (anxiety, depression and loneliness) were high in Tower Hamlets compared to national rates at Wave 1 (mid-2020). Rates of depression and anxiety remained above national rates at Wave 2 (early 2021). One quarter of participants were lonely most or all of the time at Wave 2. Pregnant women and those expecting a second or subsequent baby are at particular risk of elevated depressive symptoms. • Housing and environment: lockdown meant managing multiple uses of often overcrowded and/or poor-quality accommodation. Nearly half of survey respondents in Wave 2 thought there was insufficient living space with impacts on privacy for adults and children and for most a general feeling of being trapped. In Wave 2 Household Panel (Autumn 2021) 11/18 families had serious overcrowding defined as adults and children sharing bedrooms or adults sleeping in the living room. Once pandemic restrictions were lifted the impact of overcrowding dissipated for some families as they made more use of outdoor spaces and services. • Children's lives: there was an intensification of intra-household time and relationships and an almost complete loss of participation in social worlds and outdoor activities. Some parents reinvented activities and routines but others experienced a loss of routine; some referred to their children's lives as a prison. By Wave 2 Household Panel easing of restrictions and in particular resuming school and early childhood education and care services helped children's sense of routine, socialisation and supported improved behaviour though some concerns remained particularly around social skills and emotional anxiety (e.g., being clingy). • Financial precarity: there was a worsening of financial health for middle income families in particular; the very poorest stayed poor and the more affluent retained their material resources over the study period. Two thirds of middle income and over half of low income families perceived their income as insecure. Over 70 percent of South Asian families were financially insecure vs just over a third of White British/Irish families and this changed little over the study period. Three quarters of lone parents were financially insecure at both waves. At Wave 2 Household Panel, many families had employment opportunities and felt their job security and income had improved, but outgoings were escalating particularly cost of childcare, fuel and food, causing concern for low and middle income families. • Childcare cost and eligibility was a serious restriction on mothers' access to employment. • Couple relationships were mostly recorded as good or excellent at Wave 1 and 2 and this appeared to be an important protective factor in mitigating the impact of poor mental health. When poor or average relationship quality there was an association with poor mental health. However, it may be that the survey did not capture those in poor quality relationships. • Working mothers took on considerably more child caregiving and housework duties compared to their pre-pandemic family lives: 12% of fathers and 56% of mothers said they did much more child caregiving than their partner (and 47% of fathers agreed that they do much less than their partner). Intense caregiving responsibilities were significantly more likely for low-income mothers, and those in South Asian households. • A minority of couples (36%) retained shared parenting and 13% of fathers undertook more childcare during the pandemic than previously. Changes to time spent as a family during the pandemic, particularly fathers' involvement in their young children's lives, endured to Wave 2 Household Panel. • Community services' access during pregnancy and postnatal period appeared to be about 80% for routine midwifery and 60% for health visiting at Wave 1 (mid 2020). At Wave 2 55% of families with a 0-24 month-old and 76% of families with a 2-5 year-old were able to access a health visitor. The majority accessed a health visitor over the phone / online. Wave 2 Household Panel members reported long waits for healthcare appointments with GPs, health visitors and specialist services. • Informal support was relatively low given the high profile of voluntary sector support and community activity in the borough: about half of respondents received or gave support to others outside their household and few were engaged in voluntary work. This did not seem to change by Wave 2. • Support for families via social and kin networks had partially resumed by Wave 2 Household Panel but not to the same extent as pre-pandemic. |
| Exploitation Route | Future studies of family precarity, child wellbeing and health/development outcomes in urban multi-cultural areas would be informed by evidence produced in relation to differences of pandemic experience and impacts by income, gender and ethnicity. Collaborations with our partners in UCL Institute of Child Health and London Borough of Newham, with Bradford Institute of Health Research, University of York and Bradford Council are in progress. Interventions at the local level might develop in relation to job security for parents, support of new parents, peer support in hyper-local neighbourhoods, in access to family support services via children's centres and health visitors. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/thomas-coram-research-unit/our-research/families-tower-hamlets-impacts-covid-19 |
| Description | Project and its findings referred to in local borough's policy papers eg 'Key Issues for young children and families arising from the Covid-19 pandemic'. The five project evidence briefs have been the stimulus for new thinking about how to get research evidence integrated into policy processes taking place in the borough via an academic and policy maker 'Impact' project as part of UKPRP funded ActEarly. This has been given additional impetus by the award, to the borough of a HDRC programme, which will promote the use of research and data in policy and practice development. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | COVID-19: Families, children aged 0-4 and pregnant women: vulnerabilities, resources and recovery in Tower Hamlets |
| Amount | £322,568 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/V004891/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2020 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | Healthier Wealthier Families in East London |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | London Borough of Tower Hamlets |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2023 |
| End | 05/2024 |
| Description | Impact of Covid-19 on families with children under five and pregnant women in Newham |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | London Borough Of Newham |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2020 |
| End | 10/2021 |
| Description | COVID19 maternity organisation and delivery collaborating group |
| Organisation | University of Central Lancashire |
| Department | Maternal and Infant Nutrition Unit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Exchange progress and findings at monthly meetings; host in-person working meeting to prepare for national seminar; host in-person working meeting to prepare for grant application |
| Collaborator Contribution | Host monthly exchange of progress and findings meetings; collate and synthesize findings; host policy evidence event |
| Impact | Planned working meeting 2021; policy synthesis paper; national evidence sharing event September 2022; working meeting February 2023 to prepare collective bid |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Families in Newham: Impact of Covid on families under five |
| Organisation | London Borough Of Newham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Survey design; survey administration; supported sample recruitment; supported data processing and analysis; supported dissemination |
| Collaborator Contribution | Negotiated access to field; led on multi-agency recruitment of survey participants; shaped the outputs to borough needs. Supervised researchers. |
| Impact | 5 x 4 page briefings for borough residents; jointly written chapter in Policy Press volume under review; medical studentship dissertation; PhD dissertation based on some of the data. Ongoing. Pediatrics; Psychology; Sociology; Public Health. Development of a pilot project called Healthier Wealthier Families funded by East London Foundation Trust and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Development of an international working group to support the pilot and further development of the intervention. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Families in Newham: Impact of Covid on families under five |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Institute of Child Health |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Survey design; survey administration; supported sample recruitment; supported data processing and analysis; supported dissemination |
| Collaborator Contribution | Negotiated access to field; led on multi-agency recruitment of survey participants; shaped the outputs to borough needs. Supervised researchers. |
| Impact | 5 x 4 page briefings for borough residents; jointly written chapter in Policy Press volume under review; medical studentship dissertation; PhD dissertation based on some of the data. Ongoing. Pediatrics; Psychology; Sociology; Public Health. Development of a pilot project called Healthier Wealthier Families funded by East London Foundation Trust and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Development of an international working group to support the pilot and further development of the intervention. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Global professional exchange |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Shared preliminary findings from project with colleagues from several European countries, China & USA in parental leave network that reaches 45 countries |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Parent webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Webinar for parents and voluntary organisations presenting interim study findings which made connections across related projects and defined a new thematic area of study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | SPPA Webinar social justice and social pedagogy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation about study findings at an event about social justic and social pedagogy to raise awareness of intersection of poverty, ethnicity and service support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Stakeholder webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Webinar for health professionals in North and East London as part of focusing on understanding service user experience during the pandemic |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Stakeholder webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Professionals working with children and families including policy makers from local government, and the voluntary sector attended a webinar bringing together interim study findings with findings from a related parent engagement project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Televised Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | IOE120: The impact of Covid-19 on society and social research. Experts from Social Research Institute, UCL Institute of Education discussed impacts of Covid in a televised round table as part of the IOE's anniversary events |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/ioe120/ioe120-impact-covid-19-society-and-social-research |