We consider the importance of research to clinical practice in child health. This is the first of a two-part conversation between Professor Paul Dimitri, our Vice President for Science & Research, and Emily Arkell, Director of Research & Policy - and the fourth of our 'in conversation' series on the College strategy 2021-24.

One of our aims is to harness knowledge, data and intelligence to improve the quality of care in paediatrics, and we do this through a range of quality improvement programmes and support of child health research. Almost a quarter of England's population is under 20 years of age, but they consume just 11% of the NHS budget. Just 5% of health research in the UK over a recent five-year period was on children and young people, and there are fewer clinical academic paediatricians than 10 years ago. So how can we encourage investment in child health research?

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