Kate is an Assistant Professor in Community Wellbeing within the Social Work, Education & Community Wellbeing department. Kate teaches and is an active researcher. Kate teaches on multiple health and public health related programmes and is also a module leader. Kate is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
She is an expert in preventative health specifically cancer prevention and screening relating to people with learning disabilities or people with severe mental illness. Broadly, her research interests are in health inequalities, learning disabilities, avoidable and preventable deaths, health systems and access to health services. Her research has international relevance, with a current international project called Cancer- Understanding Prevention in Intellectual Disabilities (CUPID). This in an interdisciplinary network of stakeholders representing carers, service providers, advocacy groups, educators, healthcare professionals, researchers and people with intellectual disabilities. The aim of the project is to address issues of policy and equity of access to cancer prevention initiatives by people with intellectual disabilities. Kate is a working group lead aiming to develop a research and practice agenda on how cancer prevention/screening can be equitable.
Current projects:
CUPID: Cancer- Understanding prevention in intellectual disabilities (Oct 2022 to Oct 2026)
Action Chair: Dr Suzanne Denieffe Barry
Role: Member and working group 2 lead
Funder: COST EU
Co-produce a Lifestyle Energy Activity and Nutrition (LEAN): intervention for people with learning disabilities (Jan 2025 to Jan 2025)
Lead investigators: Prof Emma Giles, Jo Smith
Role: PPI lead and Team member
Funder: NIHR Team Science
Show me how and where you belong (Sep 2024 - Feb 2026)
Lead investigators: Dr Magdalena Mikulak, Prof David Abbott
Role: Co-investigator
Funder: NIHR School for Public Health Research
Membership:
Fuse - Centre for Translational Research in Public Health
Tees Valley Health Inequalities in Cancer Steering Group
UK Society for Behavioural Medicine Cancer Prevention and Screening Special Interest Group
- Advancing equity for people with intellectual disabilities: Closing the neglected cancer policy gap, McMahon, M., Denieffe, S., Sykes, K., Knapp, P., Cuypers, M., Soylar, P., Popa, A., Ibrahim, D., Aksoy, B., Akbulut, S., Flora, K., Dogan, S., Tuna, B., Ilgaz, A., Kulla, G., Mušanović, J., Hansford, R., Banda, A., Ünal, D., İşeri, Ö., Sahin, E., Uncu, F., Milutinović, D., Altın, D., Topkaya, M., Bolacali, E., Burke, E., Özdemir, Ş., Akciğer, B., Sprincean, S., Lima, K., Tadić, D., Kassymbekova, F., Passeri, E., Kisková-Šimková, T., Yilmaz, E., O'Connor, M., Thygesen, L., Horsbøl, T., Vukovic, V. 1 Mar 2026, In: Journal of Cancer Policy
- Review of residential and nursing care home policies on safety incident reporting in England, Steer, M., Sykes, K., Waring, J., Mason, C., Dawson, P., Newman, C., Young-Murphy, L., Spencer, M., Scott, J. 1 Apr 2026, In: Journal of Health Services Research & Policy
- The importance of cancer prevention policies to inform and guide preventative and screening measures for people with intellectual disabilities: The COST project “Cancer- Understanding Prevention in Intellectual Disabilities”, Vukovic, V., Banda, A., Carneiro, L., Dogan, S., Knapp, P., McMahon, M., Milutinovic, D., Soylar, P., Sykes, K., Tosun, B., Yava, A., Trajkovski, V., Wells, J., Cuypers, M. 1 Mar 2026, In: Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
- Advancing a Universal European Cancer Prevention Methodology for People With Intellectual Disability: Findings From CUPID Workshops in Ireland and Türkiye, McMahon, M., Asi, E., Dimitrievska, V., Gozum, S., Ilgaz, A., Martin, C., O'Connor, M., Sykes, K., Knapp, P. 1 Sep 2025, In: British Journal of Learning Disabilities
- How well are marginalised groups represented in electronic records? A codelist development project and cross-sectional analysis of UK electronic health records, Perchyk, T., De Vere Hunt, I., Nicholson, B., Mounce, L., Sykes, K., Lyratzopoulos, G., Lemanska, A., Whitaker, K., Kerrison, R. 11 Aug 2025, In: BMJ Open
- Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF) standards: co-production of adaptations for the care home sector to improve cross-system integration, Newman, C., Mason, C., Brittain, K., Dawson, P., Spencer, M., Sykes, K., Waring, J., Young-Murphy, L., Scott, J. 26 Feb 2025, In: Journal of Long-Term Care
- Perceptions of National Cancer Prevention Policies in Europe: A Survey of Organisations Supporting People with Intellectual Disabilities, Vukovic, V., Sykes, K., Kowalczyk, O., Denny, M., Hickey, F., Denieffe, S., McMahon, M. 9 Dec 2025, In: Disabilities
- Safety incident reporting: policy review in English care homes to improve learning and safety, Steer, M., Sykes, K., Waring, J., Mason, C., Dawson, P., Newman, C., Young-Murphy, L., Spencer, M., Scott, J. 20 May 2025, NIHR School for Social Care Research, York, National Institute for Health Research
- Systematic review of types of safety incidents and the processes and systems used for safety incident reporting in care homes, Scott, J., Sykes, K., Waring, J., Spencer, M., Young-Murphy, L., Mason, C., Newman, C., Brittain, K., Dawson, P. 1 Jan 2025, In: Journal of Advanced Nursing
- Barriers and facilitators for people with severe mental illness accessing cancer screening: A systematic review, Tuschick, E., Barker, J., Giles, E., Jones, S., Hogg, J., Kanmodi, K., Sill, J., Sykes, K. Jan 2024, In: Psycho-Oncology
- Health Studies MSc October 04 2016
- Psychology BSc (Hons) September 01 2015
- Health PhD
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