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Letter
The Adoption Barometer: reporting the challenges our adopted patients face
  1. Joanne C Blair1,
  2. Alison Woodhead2,
  3. Rebecca Brooks2
  1. 1 Department of Endocrinology, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
  2. 2 Adoption UK, Banbury, UK
  1. Correspondence to Professor Joanne C Blair, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool L12 2AP, Merseyside, UK; jo.blair{at}alderhey.nhs.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-323258

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    It is estimated that 70 000–80 000 children live in adopted families in the UK and many paediatricians provide care for adopted children. Approaching the care of an adopted child with an awareness of the challenges they and their family may face may result in a more successful partnership between professionals, adopted children and families, increasing the likelihood of positive clinical outcomes. In this letter, we share data from the Adoption Barometer, an annual survey conducted by Adoption UK, the UK’s biggest adoption charity, which gives insights into the challenges some adopted children and their families encounter.

    In 2020, the mean age at adoption was 3.25 years and 77% of children had experienced abuse or neglect.1 The legacy of early life trauma on psychological2 and physical health3 has …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors The letter was drafted by JCB. AW, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, reviewed the letter and oversees dissemination of the Adoption Barometer report. RB is the author of the Adoption Barometer. She reviewed and edited the letter.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.