SUCCESS
Strategies Used for Constipation in Children – Evidence Synthesis involving Stakeholders
A UK Collaborative Study funded by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC), Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme
Constipation in children
Thirty percent of parents report constipation at some stage in their child’s life. Constipation is often short-lived, but in some children it progresses to long-term severe constipation, potentially with overflow incontinence. The problem is generally greater in severity and prevalence when a child has a learning disability. We do not know enough about how best to treat chronic functional constipation (CFC) in children. We do not know how well different treatments and models of support work, or the best ways to combine them.
Aims of the SUCCESS project
The SUCCESS project aims to find and bring together information that has been published about the various treatments in order to establish the best treatments and treatment combinations. The SUCCESS project aims to provide important information to parents, carers and family members, health professionals, policymakers, and researchers on how best to manage CFC, and identify where more research is needed.
What has been done?
The SUCCESS project has been conducted in partnership with a stakeholder group. The stakeholder group includes parents of children with CFC, those who have experienced CFC as a child, and health professionals and charities involved in providing care and advice.
The SUCCESS project has involved a series of systematic reviews. A systematic review is a method of carefully bringing together all existing studies, assessing how good each one is, comparing their findings and - if possible - making overall conclusions about what works best.
What have we produced?
We have brought together evidence from 651 research studies in a series of systematic reviews. Our stakeholder group have played a key role in determining how this evidence has been brought together and presented.
The table produced provides links to access different information about the methods and results of the SUCCESS project.
Peer-reviewed publications are listed here:
Project team
- Alex Todhunter-Brown – Senior Research Fellow
- Lorna Booth – Research Fellow
- Pauline Campbell – Research Fellow
- Brenda Cheer – Paediatric Specialist Continence Nurse
- Julie Cowie – Senior Research Fellow
- Andrew Elders - Statistician
- Suzanne Hagan – Professor of Health Services Research
- Karen Jankulak – PPI Member
- Helen Mason – Professor of Health Economics
- Clare Millington – PPI Member
- Margaret Ogden – PPI Member
- Charlotte Paterson – Research Fellow
- Davina Richardson – Children’s Specialist Nurse
- Debs Smith – PPI Member
- Jonathan Sutcliffe – Consultant Pediatric Surgeon
- Katie Thomson – Lecturer
- Claire Torrens – Research Fellow
- Doreen McClurg – Professor of Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
Funding acknowledgement
This research was funded by the HTA NIHR (128470)
Department of Health disclaimer
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health
