Background
The first 1001 days, from the start of pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, are a critical period for both child development and maternal health. Experiences during this time can have long-term effects on physical health, mental wellbeing and life opportunities. While there is extensive research on individual aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, infant development and maternal mental health, these factors are often studied separately. There is currently no comprehensive framework that brings together the many interacting influences on health, care use, costs and inequalities across the first 1001 days. Impact Form_STEEM HF model_22.07.2026 aims to address this gap by developing a system-level economic model that captures the complex relationships between maternal and child outcomes during this important life stage.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the project is to develop a generic system-level model of the first 1001 days of life that can be used to better understand health, care and economic outcomes for mothers and children and support the evaluation of future interventions.
The objectives are to:
- Build a model that captures key events, health outcomes and care pathways from pregnancy to age two for both mother and child.
- Incorporate demographic characteristics and inequalities to understand how outcomes vary across different population groups.
- Use routine data and existing evidence to examine the costs and consequences of care during the first 1001 days.
- Support commissioners, policymakers and researchers in evaluating interventions and identifying opportunities to improve outcomes.
- Create a platform that can be adapted and updated over time as new evidence and datasets become available.
Methods
The project will use health economic modelling and routine healthcare data to develop a comprehensive system-level model of the first 1001 days. Researchers will begin by reviewing existing evidence, mapping available datasets and engaging stakeholders to understand priorities for evaluation and decision-making.
Key activities include:
- Reviewing existing economic and policy models relevant to pregnancy, maternal health and early childhood.
- Mapping routine datasets across Yorkshire and Humber, including opportunities to work with connected data resources such as Connected Bradford and Connected Yorkshire.
- Developing generic model structures that integrate maternal, child and wider system outcomes.
- Analysing routine data to identify important events, outcomes and drivers of inequality.
- Working with policy, healthcare and research stakeholders to ensure the model addresses real-world commissioning and service challenges.
- Testing, refining and validating the model throughout the ARC programme.
Further Information
This project is part of the NIHR ARC Yorkshire & Humber SysTem-level Economic Evaluation Modelling (STEEM) theme and contributes to the Healthy Families sub-theme.
The study is led by Sebastian Hinde, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
The project works closely with colleagues from the Healthy Families and Mental Health themes, alongside external collaborators including Josie Dickerson from the Born in Bradford programme and Richard Cookson and colleagues involved in the LifeSim model.
The model is expected to:
- Improve understanding of the costs, benefits and inequalities associated with care during the first 1001 days.
- Help commissioners identify the most effective and cost-effective approaches to supporting mothers and children.
- Support evaluation of interventions aimed at improving maternal and child outcomes.
- Inform regional and national policy related to children, families, maternal health and prevention.
- Contribute to reducing health inequalities by explicitly incorporating demographic and deprivation factors throughout the model.
Study duration: April 2026 to March 2031.
