Why population data matter in paediatric critical care

Sarah Seaton, Associate Professor at the University of Leicester and co-lead of the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network, provides insights into the importance of population-level data in paediatric critical care. She explains why looking across broad groups of children can help identify challenges that may not be visible when focusing on individual patients or units alone. The interview considers how PICANet and other real-world data sources can guide more focused investigation into particular services, conditions or patient groups. Sarah discusses the potential of these data to reveal problems earlier and help shape research priorities across paediatric critical care.

This interview took place at the PCCS Annual Scientific Meeting 2026 in London.