The Born in Bradford COVID-19 Research Study: Protocol for an adaptive mixed methods research study to gather actionable intelligence on the impact of COVID-19 on health inequalities amongst families living in Bradford

Abstract

The UK COVID-19 lockdown has included restricting social movement and interaction to slow the spread of disease and reduce demand on NHS acute services. It is likely that the impacts of restrictions will hit the least advantaged disproportionately and will worsen existing structural inequalities amongst deprived and ethnic minority groups. The aim of this study is to deliver rapid intelligence to enable an effective COVID-19 response, including co-production of interventions, that address key issues in the City of Bradford, UK, and nationally. In the longer term we aim to understand the impacts of the response on health trajectories and inequalities in these. In this paper we describe our approach and protocol. We plan an adaptive longitudinal mixed methods approach embedded with Born in Bradford (BiB) birth cohorts which have rich existing data (including questionnaire, routine health and biobank). All work packages (WP) interact and are ongoing. WP1 uses co-production and engagement methods with communities, decision-makers and researchers to continuously set (changing) research priorities and will, longer-term, co-produce interventions to aid the City’s recovery. In WP2 repeated quantitative surveys will be administered during lockdown (April-June 2020), with three repeat surveys until 12 months post-lockdown with an ethnically diverse pool of BiB participants (parents, children aged 9-13 years, pregnant women: total sample pool N=7,652, N=5,154, N=1,800). A range of health, social, economic and education outcomes will be assessed. In WP3 priority topics identified in WP1 and WP2 will be explored qualitatively. Initial priority topics include children’s mental wellbeing, health beliefs and the peri/post-natal period. Feedback loops will ensure findings are fed directly to decision-makers and communities (via WP1) to enable co-production of acceptable interventions and identify future priority topic areas. Findings will be used to aid development of local and national policy to support recovery from the pandemic and minimise health inequalities.

“When will this end? Will it end?” The impact of the March-June 2020 UK Covid-19 lockdown response on mental health: a longitudinal survey of mothers in the Born in Bradford study

“…A longitudinal study using data collected at two time points before and during the March-June 2020 Covid-19 lockdown from mothers who participated in one of two prospective birth cohort studies in Bradford: Born in Bradford’s Growing Up (BiBGU) study with parents of children currently aged 9-13 11,12 and Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) with parents of children currently aged 0-4. 13…”

Experiences of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic: descriptive findings from a survey of families in the Born in Bradford study

“…The Born in Bradford (BiB) research programme has been following the health and wellbeing of over 36,000 Bradford residents since 2007. Bradford is the fifth largest metropolitan district in England, situated in the North of England and has a young, ethnically diverse population with high levels of deprivation and health inequalities 10 . BiB is host to three family cohort studies, two of which had collected in-depth information on the demographics of participants prior to the pandemic, as well as consent to contact participants for new research studies 11 – 13 .…”

“…This includes plans to use longitudinal data from before the pandemic, and from future surveys during the pandemic, to describe the trajectories, and identify the long-term consequences, of the pandemic on vulnerable populations. Our approach can be read in more detail here 10 .…”

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - A resource for COVID-19 research: Generation 2 questionnaire data capture May-July 2020

“…ALSPAC recruited participants from one geographical area, of mostly White European families, and several selection processes (see above) have influenced who is included in the G2 COVID-19 dataset, meaning that results from this dataset may not generalise to the wider UK population or non-UK populations. However, as ALSPAC is part of several collaborative efforts we would recommend, where appropriate, using these data alongside other relevant cohort data with similar measurements, for example the Born in Bradford data 36 . Additionally, while we make no claims about representativeness, by using longitudinal data it is possible to assess changes over time within individuals in this cohort, allowing both pre- vs post-COVID comparisons, as well as exploring short- vs long-term responses to the pandemic (e.g., see 24 , 37 ).…”