Health outcomes and healthcare use in children born to single parents

Family structure has been shown to impact children's wellbeing, behavior and health outcomes. Many studies have focused on children who experience changes in family structure (ie divorce of parents or cohabitation with step-parents). However less evidence exists on health outcomes in early life and engagement with healthcare for children born to single parents. The aim of this PhD is to compare birth outcomes, mortality, and potentially preventable hospital admissions among children with single or coupled parents (married or cohabiting). Parent relationship status will be determined from birth registration data, which has been linked to Hospital Episode Statistics and mortality data for all children born in England between 2005 and 2014. A sub-study using data from an intensive home visiting intervention for teenage mothers (the Family Nurse Partnership) will also be conducted to compare health outcomes for children of young and vulnerable mothers according to maternal relationship status. Social policies to support parents differ between countries and could impact health outcomes of children. International comparisons of child health outcomes according to parental relationship status will therefore also be carried out using administrative data from up to three jurisdictions.