Professionals and charities have welcomed our new animated films based on research on determining signs of life in very premature babies. The films further the research impact of a study carried out by the University of Leicester, Oxford University and charities.
Based on the MBRRACE-UK ‘Signs of life’ guidance, these films support professionals and parents when a baby is born too early. The films include aspects of care such as:
- When doctor needs to see the baby
- How to check for signs of life
- Making memories
- When to issue a birth and death certificate.
The series consists of a film for professionals alongside a shorter version. There is also a short film aimed at parents. The full version includes interviews with parents who took part in our project losing a pregnancy at 20–24 weeks. Want to go straight to the films?
Feedback on the animated films
More than 300 professionals saw the longer film at the MBRRACE-UK Annual Perinatal Mortality Meeting in October 2021. It was very well-received. Professor Lucy Smith from The University of Leicester worked with us on the films.
“Working with Dipex has been a real pleasure and has been very influential in improving the implementation of our work. We wanted to publicise the messages of the new MBRRACE-UK Signs of Life Guidance to healthcare professionals. While the guidance was accessible via our website, we sought the help of the Dipex charity to create some supporting videos. We wanted to provide an accessible, visual explanation of the guidance and a quick refresher to remind staff of the key issues. We also wanted to share the messages of the work with parents and families.
Creating the videos was a really co-operative process with us learning from each other along the pathway. We really appreciated their ability to convey a very distressing topic in such a sensitive way to families and professionals. We’re really delighted with the final videos. We feel they will help us to ensure our guidance reaches healthcare professionals caring for parents and babies. They can then take the messages and put them into practice. We look forward to working together again on a future project. Dipex have helped enhance the impact of our work to support professionals and ultimately improve outcomes for parents and families.”
Professor Lucy Smith
University of Leicester
How we made the films
The Dipex Charity team and Professor Lucy Smith worked together with the support of professionals, parents and charities. We collaborated on the script and storyboard. Our in-house team created the artwork and animation, filmed interviews with professionals and edited the films together. On the audio side, we commissioned a voice artist and sourced appropriate background music.
Funding for this project came via Flora Coleman and Guy Opperman MP. The couple raised the money in memory of their twin boys Teddy and Rafe who died in 2020.
Work with us on an animated training film
Are you looking to enhance the impact of your research? Maybe you are thinking about making a training film for health or social care professionals. If you would like to talk about us making animation based on your work, get in touch.