A new research project in the University of Bath’s School of Management is aiming to place the lived experiences of people with learning disabilities at the centre of digital health innovation.
Funded by the LEAP Digital Health Hub, Dr James Fletcher is collaborating with The Care Forum to better understand how people with learning difficulties are being excluded from everyday eHealth services, such as using the NHS App to manage appointments or prescriptions.
By combining The Care Forum’s community insight with Dr Fletcher’s research expertise, the project will explore how accessibility barriers—ranging from interface design to insufficient support—are preventing equitable access to digital health tools.
He said: “We know that people with learning disabilities can be excluded, but so far initiatives haven't managed to address the problem. And it’s only getting worse as health services become increasingly digital.
“By enabling people with learning disabilities to be at the centre of the project we hope that our series of workshops will help us co-develop more effective and sustainable ways of ensuring digital inclusion in health services.”
The project is one of six funded through the Digital Health Community Innovators scheme, part of LEAP’s Fellowship Programme, which offers up to £10,000 in seed funding to support research driven by lived experience. The scheme is designed to bring community voices into digital health research and encourages applications from people without formal research backgrounds - including patients, carers, and those working in charities or community groups.
The University of Bath’s Professor Christos Vasilakis, LEAP Fellowships Programme Co-Director, said: “Through the Fellowships programme, which is central to our mission of building digital health capacity in the South West of England and Wales, we are supporting the next generation of digital health leaders, enabling them to carry out impactful research and deliver tangible benefits to communities across the region and beyond.”
About LEAP
LEAP (Leadership, Engagement, Acceleration & Partnership) is a groundbreaking Digital Health Hub that supports innovation, research, and collaboration in the South West of England and Wales. It is funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by the University of Bristol, bringing together five leading regional universities, including the University of Bath, the University of the West of England (UWE), Cardiff University, and the University of Exeter, along with Health Data Research UK (HDR UK). Find out more about the new LEAP projects at leap-hub.ac.uk or sign up to the Hub’s newsletter for regular updates about the Community Innovators and their progress alongside news about the Hub’s training courses, events and opportunities.