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Baby Sleep Project
Family Advisors

Families are at the heart of this research! Everything that happens here at the Baby Sleep Project is for families, so this group is really important.

ABOUT THE GROUP

The family advisory group is a great way to get involved with the research, you can choose how to get involved and we are all very friendly. The group is made up of:

– family members with young babies 

– some of the researchers 

– some of the family members are also health professionals 

– some of us have experience with baby loss

“I have recently joined the family advisory group. It’s a great feeling to contribute,  knowing that your input through personal experiences helps make a difference in shaping future safe sleep research.” 

WHAT DO WE DO?

The group influences the research, for example in the Baby Sleep Planner, we…

– came up with the wording for the sleep plan options and 
– reminded the research team to make the tool work for people who don’t live in houses
– and who are looking after more than one baby at a time.

 

 “It’s great to feel like you are helping to make a difference”

“Being a part of the baby sleep project has been really interesting for me. I have 3 children and find the work that the team are doing fantastic. As a parent to a new baby, I found it very easy to just let my children sleep anywhere. It wasn’t always the best option and at the time the tiredness just overtook me and I just needed that sleep myself so ended up just letting them sleep where they went down. The Baby sleep project can be used to guide new parents and carers on safer sleep methods for their little ones giving them peace of mind that while they’re catching up on well needed rest, that their children are safe and sound” 

GROUP RULES

As part of the group ground rules, we always make sure that: 

  • Members have a range of options for how to be involved
  • Members have the opportunity to take part in training and support with public involvement skills
  • The researchers communicate ‘you said, we did’ after every meeting
  • The researchers reciprocate in ways suggested by the group including payments, representation on the study website, and offering letters confirming involvement that may be useful additions to a CV
  • Meetings are facilitated with principles of safety of information sharing and respect, valuing experience and expertise as equals

 

CAN I GET INVOLVED?

If you are looking after a young baby and want to find out more about joining our group send us an email: babysleep@bristol.ac.ukWe are very happy to hear from you!

The only special skills you need to be a group member are the ones you get from looking after young babies!

 

FUTURE PROJECTS

Recently, we have given the researchers specific advice about the design of a study to test the effectiveness of the baby sleep planning tool. We suggested how they could collect data from families about infant sleep and what they should offer for taking part. These suggestions are now part of the plan. 

In the future we will work together at every stage of research, providing our opinions on more than just study materials, but also ethics, data collection, recruitment, questionnaires and how to use and share the results. 

 

HERE ARE SOME OF OUR MEMBERS:

Michelle Baggaley

Michelle Baggaley

Alex

Alex Barr

Becky Sopp

Steph Price

Francine Bridge

Lily Milton

Harleigh Gomer

Rachel Sexton