eprintid: 10174793 rev_number: 6 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/17/47/93 datestamp: 2023-08-08 10:00:15 lastmod: 2023-08-08 10:00:15 status_changed: 2023-08-08 10:00:15 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Grant, Claire creators_name: Powell, Claire creators_name: Philip, Georgia creators_name: Blackburn, Ruth creators_name: Lacey, Rebecca creators_name: Woodman, Jenny title: ‘On paper, you’re normal’: narratives of unseen health needs among women who have had children removed from their care ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B16 divisions: B02 divisions: B14 divisions: J81 divisions: D13 divisions: G25 keywords: child protection, lifecourse health, narrative analysis, public health note: © The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abstract: Background: Mothers who have children removed from their care often have complex needs. These women have poor health outcomes and are dying earlier than their peers from preventable and amenable causes. Yet there is little known about how health care services might mitigate these risks. This study aimed to listen to the voices of women who had children removed from their care to understand their experiences of health and healthcare.// Methods: We used a narrative approach to collect and analyse interview data with six mothers who had experienced child removal in England. Each participant was asked to reflect on their life and main health challenges.// Results: Three narrative subplots were developed to consolidate experiences of unmet health need: (i) ‘on paper you’re normal’: narratives of complex need, (ii) ‘in my family, everyone had issues’: narratives of whole family need and (iii) ‘I’m still mummy, no matter where they are’: narratives of maternal identity and health.// Conclusions: Findings highlight limitations within current systems of support, including a culture of distrust and women falling between the gaps of services. Women’s narratives illustrate opportunities for health intervention, especially immediately following child removal. date: 2023-07-31 date_type: published publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP) official_url: https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdad137 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2043206 doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad137 medium: Print-Electronic pii: 7233966 lyricists_name: Powell, Claire lyricists_name: Woodman, Jenny lyricists_id: CPOWE21 lyricists_id: JWOOD51 actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette actors_id: BFFLY94 actors_role: owner funding_acknowledgements: ES/P000592/1 [Economic and Social Research Council UBEL Doctoral Training Programme] full_text_status: public publication: Journal of Public Health article_number: fdad137 event_location: England issn: 1741-3842 citation: Grant, Claire; Powell, Claire; Philip, Georgia; Blackburn, Ruth; Lacey, Rebecca; Woodman, Jenny; (2023) ‘On paper, you’re normal’: narratives of unseen health needs among women who have had children removed from their care. Journal of Public Health , Article fdad137. 10.1093/pubmed/fdad137 <https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed%2Ffdad137>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174793/1/fdad137.pdf