What I Would Like to Change

In 2023, we published our findings for ‘What I’d Like to Say’: the first phase of a community research project exploring disabled and neurodivergent experiences of cancer services.

This first phase involved working with local support organisations to identify the issues being faced, e.g from physical access to screening and difficult to understand information to provision of psychological support.

Fast forward to today, and our focus is on phase two and ‘What I’d Like to Change’. This time, our attention moved to solutions—revisiting the groups from phase one to find out what could be done differently to make their experience better in the future.

Led by Katie and Rosie, our two community researchers, we took the key themes from phase one back to the groups and used art-based research methods to accompany conversations around what good cancer care for disabled and neurodivergent people looks like.

The result of these conversations is a report full of valuable insight, which can now be used to influence change, develop good practice and both cultural and systemic change. The ideas we heard from those involved are innovative, often simple but impactful, and capable of making a big difference.

You can view our report in multiple formats including large print and audio here.

Looking to the future, we are already starting new projects to put the solutions we have heard into practice, starting with our Screening Project. As part of this project, our community researchers are collaborating with Breast Screening services, using the insight already gathered and coproduction focus groups to ensure improved service experience for both disabled and neurodivergent people and the trans+ community.

Keep up to date with our current work via our blog below, and if you have any questions please contact us.