Use of the Ages and stages questionnaire in Bradford as a measure of Child Development (ABCD): a mixed methods study protocol

The Ages and Stages Questionnaire® is the earliest routinely recorded measure of children’s development at age two, administered in England. However, there have been few studies on the acceptability of this measure within a UK setting, especially for families at risk of inequity. To ensure all children and families receive the necessary support, a reliable measure of child development is essential. This mixed-methods study aims to address the current evidence gaps by investigating if the Ages and Stages Questionnaire® is acceptable, implementable, and equitable for use by health professionals and families as an overall measure of child development in a UK setting.

This study will use data from Born in Bradford’s Better Start birth cohort, which recruits from three ethnically diverse, socioeconomically deprived inner-city wards of the Bradford District. Rich baseline sociodemographic information will be linked to individual-level local health visiting data to describe how many children have records of an Ages and Stages Questionnaire®, investigate the factors associated with children having a record and describe differences in questionnaire scores by sociodemographic characteristics. To support interpretation of the quantitative analyses within the local context, qualitative semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore health professionals’ perspectives and experiences of implementing the Ages and Stages Questionnaire® in Bradford. We will analyse the interview data using descriptive thematic analysis and integrate the data using the process of triangulation. We will use the Health Equity Implementation Framework to underpin our approach.

This study has been designed with the Bradford Health Visiting Service to support development of locally relevant, evidence-based recommendations for improving the implementation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire®. The findings from this research will also provide crucial insights into the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire® as a tool for measuring early child development, particularly in ethnically diverse, urban populations.