Child Health Research Centre

Families in Focus

Families in Focus: Embedding the voices of children with disability and their families in research.

We all have a right to be heard and to shape decisions that affect us. Research evidence is important in guiding appropriate policy and practice. However, research often excludes, or fails to appropriately accommodate, children with disability and their families. Embedding the voices of children and families requires researchers to meet them where they are at, get creative, and be child- and family-centric. That is, to put families in focus.

Families in Focus is a unique approach to conducting research. To meet families where they are at, we organised a 2-day interactive research event in the foyer of the Queensland Children’s Hospital to coincide with the 2023 Children’s Week. Our key aim was to understand the educational, health and social support experiences, needs, and research priorities of children with disability and their families. Getting creative, we developed novel approaches for engagement that incorporated art and craft, games, poetry, short films, journaling, and 3-D installations across six interactive research activities. Applying a child- and family-centric approach afforded participants the opportunity to share their own stories, experiences, and perspectives. We utilised ARACY’s wellbeing wheel, the NEST, to direct attention to the many aspects of family’s lives that intersect with disability.

Impact

  • We have shared the methodology, the experiences, and key findings from this innovative event to academic researchers, government organisations, the not-for-profit sector, community organisations, and members of the community with lived experience.
  • Findings from this event have informed the Children’s Hospital Queensland’s strategic plan 2024-2028.

Awards won

  • UQs EMCR Knowledge Translation Award (2023)

Award nominations

  • UQ’s Awards for Excellence (2024), Diversity and Inclusion category – results mid-November.
  • The Australian Sociology Association’s (TASA) Sociology in Action Award, 2024 – results end November 2024.

Upcoming publications

  • Methodology is currently being prepared for submission to peer review
  • A Research Priority Statement is currently being prepared for submission
  • Key findings are currently being prepared for submission to peer review