Improving access to healthcare: research project

We’re working with partners to find out what deters disabled and neurodiverse children and young people from under-represented communities in the North West from accessing healthcare.

About the project

Some disabled and neurodiverse children and young people from under-represented and under-served communities face barriers accessing health care.

We’re carrying out research to investigate why this is and what measures will reduce these barriers. This will help researchers, charities and services in their work with under-represented communities, including what solutions to test as part of a future grant. 

The project is grant-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and based in the North West of England. We’re working in partnership on the project with Alder Hey Children’s Trust, Edge Hill University and the North West National Network of Parent Carer forums ( NW NNPCF).

What will the project involve?

There are four distinct phases to this project:

• Phase 1: We’ll work with parent carer forums to find out which communities are facing challenges accessing healthcare.
• Phase 2: We’ll spend time working with people – community connectors – within three or four of these communities. We’ll develop some good ways of working with children, young people, and their families from these groups.
• Phase 3 is all about listening to families and communities. We’ll start to build a detailed picture of the reasons children, young people and their families aren’t able to access the healthcare they need.
• Phase 4: We’ll decide with our communities how they want to work together in the future. And we’ll establish what each specific community thinks is most important in improving disabled and neurodivergent children and young people’s access to healthcare.

Parent Survey

Thank you to those who completed our survey to share your views and experiences of access to healthcare for your child. The winner of the prize draw has been contacted and the survey is now closed.

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