Children's health and wellbeing is high on the research and policy agenda of many nations. There is a wealth of epidemiological research linking childhood circumstances and health practices with adult health. However, echoing a broader picture within child health research where children have typically been viewed as objects rather than subjects of enquiry, we know very little of how, in their everyday lives, children make sense of health-relevant information. This paper reports key findings from a qualitative study exploring how children understand food in everyday life and their ideas about the relationship between food and health. 53 children aged 9-10, attending two socio-economically contrasting schools in Northern England, participated during 2010 and 2011. Data were generated in schools through interviews and debates in small friendship groups and in the home through individual interviews. Data were analysed thematically using cross-sectional, categorical indexing. Moving beyond a focus on what children know the paper mobilises the concept of health literacy (Nutbeam, 2000), explored very little in relation to children, to conceptualise how children actively construct meaning from health information through their own embodied experiences. It draws on insights from the Social Studies of Childhood (James and Prout, 2015), which emphasise children's active participation in their everyday lives as well as New Literacy Studies (Pahl and Rowsell, 2012), which focus on literacy as a social practice. Recognising children as active health literacy practitioners has important implications for policy and practice geared towards improving child health.

To review the extant literature to explore what is known about children's own perspectives on their health experiences, focussing on children and young people who have migrated into, and within, Europe. A systematic review with narrative synthesis. A review of English language articles was performed in June 2016 using the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane and Web of Science. Included articles had to report data generated directly with children, up to 18 years of age, who had migrated across national borders into, or within, Europe during their own lifetimes. Extraction from articles was undertaken by all authors, and quality assessment of included reviews was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The articles in the final data set included research based on four broad areas: alcohol, smoking and substance use; diet, eating disorders and overweight; emotional, psychological and mental health issues; and children's views and experiences of health and health services. Most studies were cross-sectional analytic or incidence or prevalence studies. There is a general lack of clarity in the literature regarding the reporting of children's own migration status. Children's voices are often subsumed within those of their adult parents or carers. There is a need to promote more child-focussed research which gives voice to migrant children to better understand the complex and multidimensional factors that contribute to their (ill)health.

Aims: Synthesize a review of reviews of the family's role in supporting adherence to diabetes self‐care management practices (DSMP) for adults with type 2 diabetes (DM2).Design: An umbrella review.Data sources: Scopus, Web of Science including MEDLINE, CINAHL via EBSCO, PubMed and Science Direct were searched for systematic reviews from their year of establishment until June 2021.Review methods: The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines for umbrella reviews. The JBI data extraction form for systematic reviews and research syntheses was used for data extraction. Methodological quality was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic reviews and Research Syntheses.Results: Nineteen reviews met the inclusion criteria. The key findings were summarized using a narrative and thematic analysis methods. Four main themes were identified: family interactions and diabetes self‐management, family support as informal social support, factors affecting families’ roles, and tailoring culturally sensitive family‐based interventions.Conclusion: There appears to be a consensus regarding the impact of family on adults' self‐management of DM2. Additional research is needed to comprehend the role of the family in underrepresented populations and examine what constitutes a family and the diverse family functions in different groups.Impact: Enhancing adherence to self‐care management practices is crucial for the well‐being of adults with DM2. Family support is a key to successful self‐care management at home. However, understanding the unique needs of adults with DM2 and their families can help healthcare professionals plan appropriate support strategies and sustainable family‐based interventions.No Patient or public contribution: This review did not incorporate direct patients or public input as it summarizes evidence from previously published systematic reviews.

The widespread privileging of children’s voices in recent times has triggered expansion of differing forms of qualitative enquiry that aim to “give children a voice.” Engaging children in research and eliciting their voices on matters that affect them is often showcased as being a more “authentic” way to capture children’s lived realities and afford their agency. Yet, the uptake of voice in qualitative enquiry, and how it may contribute to the privileging of particular ways of knowing (some) children’s lives, is rarely interrogated. Drawing on examples from our own research, in this paper we critically reflect on the frequent invoking of the term voice in qualitative health research with children. In doing so, we challenge claims of authenticity by exposing the tricky epistemological tensions and relations of power that are embedded within the production and legitimation of particular voices as being “correct” ways of knowing about health—including the ways our research intentions and methods contribute to these processes. We reflect on the methodological and epistemological value of silences, dissenting voices and other modes of expression to highlight forms of resistance to adult-led health agendas. We conclude by illustrating how dominant relations of power are (re)produced within and across research spaces, and through the mobilizing or pathologizing of particular young voices through research. Possibilities for advancing ways to harness children’s preferred modes of expression in qualitative research are also considered.

Background and Aims Youth alcohol consumption has declined significantly over the past 15 years in many high income countries, which may have significant public health benefits. However, if the reductions in drinking occur mostly among lighter drinkers who are at lower risk, then rates of alcohol‐related harm among young people today and adults in future may not fall in line with consumption. There is conflicting evidence from Swedish school studies with some suggesting all young people are drinking less while others suggest alcohol consumption among heavier drinkers may be stable or rising while average consumption declines. This paper extends the geographic focus of previous research and examines whether the decline in youth drinking is consistent across the consumption distribution in England. Design Quantile regression of 15 waves of repeat cross‐sectional survey data. Setting England, 2001‐2016. Participants 31, 882 schoolchildren (50.7% male) aged 11‐15 who responded to the Smoking Drinking and Drug Use amongst Young People surveys. Measurements Past‐week alcohol consumption in UK units at each fifth percentile of the consumption distribution. Findings Reductions in alcohol consumption occurred at all percentiles of the consumption distribution analysed between 2001 and 2016 but the magnitude of the decline differed across percentiles. The decline in consumption at the 90th percentile (β = ‐.21, CI = ‐.24, ‐.18) was significantly larger than among either lighter drinkers at the 50th percentile (β = ‐.02, CI = ‐.02, ‐.01) or heavier drinkers at the 95^th percentile (β = ‐.16, CI = ‐.18, ‐.13). Conclusions Alcohol consumption among young people in England appears to be declining across the consumption distribution, and peaks among heavy drinkers. The magnitude of this decline differs significantly between percentiles of the consumption distribution, with consumption falling proportionally less among the lightest, moderate and very heaviest youth drinkers.

Meaningful inclusion of young people’s perceptions and experiences of inequalities is argued to be critical in the development of pro-equity policies. Our study explored young people’s perceptions of what influences their opportunities to be healthy within their local area and their understandings of health inequalities. Three interlinked qualitative focus group discussions, each lasting 90 to 100 min, with the same six groups of young people (n = 42) aged 13–21, were conducted between February and June 2021. Participants were recruited from six youth groups in areas of high deprivation across three geographical locations in England (South Yorkshire, the North East and London). Our study demonstrates that young people understand that health inequalities are generated by social determinants of health, which in turn influence behaviours. They highlight a complex interweaving of pathways between social determinants and health outcomes. However, they do not tend to think in terms of the social determinants and their distribution as resulting from the power and influence of those who create and benefit from health and social inequalities. An informed understanding of the causes of health inequalities, influenced by their own unique generational experiences, is important to help young people contribute to the development of pro-equity policies of the future.