Ruth Gilbert is a clinical epidemiologist trained in paediatrics. Much of her research uses de-identified, administrative data to address clinical and policy questions related to the health of children and families. Her research uses record linkage to consider health, social and educational trajectories of children from birth to adulthood and to incorporate information from parents and siblings. Ruth co-directs the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Children and Families Policy Research which conducts research to inform the Department of Health and Social Care and related government bodies. She also co-directs the Health Data Research UK driver programme on Social and Environmental Determinants of Health.
Ruth helped to establish the ECHILD database and leads the NIHR-funded HOPE programme which uses ECHILD to evaluate the impact of special educational needs provision on health outcomes. Most recently, she established a novel database linking de-identified health data to public law, family court administrative records on women involved in court proceedings