Our report, published in summer 2026, presents the findings and identifies five priority areas for action: improve visibility of CYSPAR; adopt a broader understanding of health and wellbeing; deliver care differently; embed co-production; and support translation into policy and practice. Also available are detailed appendices, posters for young people and information for young people in six languages.
About Project AEGIS
AEGIS stands for Advancing Equity for children and young people seeking asylum and refugees: a blueprint for Generalisable InterventionS.
The research began in March 2025 and examined inequities faced by children and young people seeking asylum and refugees (CYPSAR), who often experience multiple adverse events such as illness, abuse, assault and adverse mental health. Their experiences can have life-long implications. Through data analysis, evidence synthesis, stakeholder engagement and co-produced research with young people, Project AEGIS explored how health, education, social care and wider systems can better support CYPSAR and improve outcomes.
The NHS, national organisations, and local initiatives aim to support these children and young people but there is significant variation in provision for CYPSAR across England, including the extent to which services centre the preferences and experiences of children and young people themselves.
Project AEGIS explored data, policy, existing practice, interventions and creative collaborations with CYPSAR to better understand their needs and priorities. Working alongside young people, the research team identified key opportunities to improve services, reduce inequities and strengthen alignment with the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
The findings also suggest that many of the lessons learned from this work may be applicable to other marginalised groups of children and young people experiencing health and social inequalities.
The report provides a foundation for future work to develop, implement and evaluate interventions across health, education and social care. Key recommendations include improving visibility of CYPSAR within data systems, adopting a broader understanding of health and wellbeing, delivering more coordinated and trauma-informed care, embedding co-production, and strengthening the translation of evidence into policy and practice. These recommendations aim to improve outcomes for CYPSAR and wider cohorts of children and young people experiencing inequity.
The project was hosted at University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) in collaboration with Â鶹´«Ã½, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Salford, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Barts Health NHS Foundation Trust, University College London (UCL) and East London NHS Foundation Trust. It is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The findings
Project AEGIS findings were published in summer 2026 in the report, Bridging the Gap: Advancing Equity for Children and Young People Seeking Asylum and Refugees: A Blueprint for Generalisable Interventions.
The research brought together national and local data analysis, qualitative and participatory research with young people and professionals, evidence synthesis, and stakeholder engagement.
The findings show that current systems are often fragmented, difficult to navigate and insufficiently responsive to the needs of children and young people seeking asylum and refugees. Young people consistently highlighted that health and wellbeing are shaped not only by healthcare, but also by education, housing, legal status, relationships, language and future opportunities.
The report identifies five priority areas for action:
- Improve visibility of CYPSAR across health, education and social care systems through better data collection and linkage
- Adopt a broader understanding of health and wellbeing that reflects the wider determinants affecting young people's lives
- Deliver more coordinated, trauma-informed, relational and equitable care
- Embed meaningful co-production with children and young people as standard practice
- Strengthen the translation of evidence into policy, commissioning, guidance and workforce development.
Download Bridging the Gap report and appendices below
Posters, information and flashcards for CYPSAR
During Project AEGIS, young people also told us that visual materials help prompt and support conversations. In response, we developed a flashcard set depicting health and wellbeing topics in the broadest sense. The cards were co-produced and refined with young people with lived experience and used during qualitative interviews and focus groups to guide discussions on health and wellbeing.
The cards are available for use in research, service and clinical settings. For example, they may be used to support conversations during Initial Health Assessments with children and young people seeking asylum and refugees.
Download posters, information and flashcards below
The team and how to get involved
The project brought together a diverse multidisciplinary team of clinical, academic, policy, migration, law, and social science experts from across the UK, including the below.
- Principal investigators
- Dr. Sarah Eisen – Clinical-academic Consultant Paediatrician, UCLH/UCL/LSHTM
- Professor Michelle Heys – Consultant Paediatrician, NELFT, and NIHR Professor of Global Child Health, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UCL
- Co-investigators
- Professor Andrew Rowland – Consultant Paediatrician, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust; Honorary Professor (Children’s Rights, Law, and Advocacy), University of Salford; and Officer for Child Protection, Â鶹´«Ã½
- Dr Niloha Rangel – National Health Advisor at Doctors of the World
- Dr Kate Lewis – Social Epidemiologist, UCL
- Dr Alice Armitage – Clinical-academic Consultant Paediatrician, Barts Heath
- Dr Sveta Alladi – Consultant Community Paediatrician and Named Doctor for Looked After Children, ELFT
- Dr Ioannis Papadopoulos – Lecturer in Criminology specialising in the UNCRC and immigration, University of Salford
- Dr Marthe Le Prevost – Principal Research Fellow, UCL
- Professor Suparna Dasgupta – Consultant Paediatrician , Manchester NHS Foundation Trust; and Honorary Professor (Medical Education), University of Salford
- Dr Allison Ward – Consultant Paediatrician for Vulnerable Children and Named Doctor for Safeguarding, CNWL
- Dr.Bryony Hopkinshaw – Early career academic paediatrician, UCLH/LSHTM
- Ms Grace Hastie – Policy Manager for Child Protection and Ethics, Â鶹´«Ã½
- Dr Donna Peach – Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Integrated Practice, University of Salford.
- Dr Sophie Esnouf – Medical doctor and research assistant
If you’re interested in CYPSAR health, work in the field, have lived experience of seeking asylum or other forms of international protection or are a refugee, the team would love to hear from you.
- Email us for more information on the project: uclh.aegisproject@nhs.net
- Join our stakeholder network by emailing uclh.aegisproject@nhs.net
- for regular updates and opportunities