Dr Kate Sykes

Assistant Professor

School: Communities and Education

Kate is an Assistant Professor in Community Wellbeing in the School of Communities and Education. She is an active researcher and teacher, contributing to a range of health and public health programmes, and she is also a module leader. Kate is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Kate’s primary research focus is cancer prevention and screening for people with a learning disability. Her work is built around three pillars: cancer prevention and screening, learning disabilities, and inclusion and inclusive practice. Her research often sits where these areas meet, but she also works within each individually, for example on cancer prevention and screening more broadly, or on other issues affecting people with learning disabilities. More widely, her interests include health inequalities, avoidable and preventable deaths, health systems, and access to health services.

Her research has national and international reach. Kate is frequently invited to contribute to research projects, sharing her expertise, and she works collaboratively with a wide range of partners. This includes her involvement in Cancer: Understanding Prevention in Intellectual Disabilities (CUPID), an international, interdisciplinary network of carers, service providers, advocacy groups, educators, healthcare professionals, researchers, and people with intellectual disabilities. The network aimed to address policy gaps and inequities in access to cancer prevention initiatives for people with intellectual disabilities. Kate was a working group lead, developing a research and practice agenda for making cancer prevention and screening more equitable.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
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
Arts-Based, Digital, and Related Lifestyle Interventions to Improve Health and Wellbeing for Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Scoping Review, Carne-Watson , A., Bourne, J., Drinnan, M., Sykes, K., Tuschick, E., Milner, S., McGeechan, G., Smith, J., McNab, B., Giles, E. 13 Sep 2026, In: Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
Belonging for Women, LGBTQ+ and Black and Ethnically Minoritised People With Learning Disabilities: Findings From a Qualitative, Co-Produced Study in England, Mikulak , M., Abbott, D., Sykes, K., Budworth , P., Hatton, C., Mannion , J., Kaley , A. 1 Nov 2026, In: Sociology of Health and Illness
Cancer prevention and screening for people with intellectual disabilities in Europe: a systematic review and recommendations for policy and practice, Vukovic, V., Knapp, P., Sykes, K., Denny, M., Kowalczyk, O., Denieffe, S., Wells, J., Cuypers, M., Tyner, B., Lima, K., Popa, A., Ibrahim, D., Hansford, R., Allerslev Horsbøl, T., Milutinović, D., Güvenç Tuna, B., Şahin, E., Ilgaz, A., Banda, A., Sarac, E., Doğan, S., Akbulut, S., Aksoy, B., Tadić, D., Merzah, M., Soylar, P., Doğan, A., Simin, D., Mušanović, J., Altin, D., Topkaya, M., Kassymbekova, F., Trajkovski, V., Tar Bolacali, E., Lynch, L., Burke, E., McMahon, M. 20 Aug 2026, In: Frontiers in Public Health
From notification to action: Proactive use of Student Accessibility Plans (SAPs) to support inclusive learning, Duffy, R., Sykes, K., Moore, J. 21 May 2026, Northumbria University Celebration of Education 2026
Inequalities in routes to diagnosis for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer in England, Perchyk, T., Lemanska, A., T Mounce, L., Martins, T., Sykes, K., de Vera Hunt, I., D Nicholson, B., Lyratzopoulos, G., Whitaker, K., S Kerrison, R. 6 Jul 2026, In: International Journal of Population Data Science
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 barriers and facilitators for people with bipolar disorder deciding to attend and/or complete cancer screening of the cervix, breast and bowel: A qualitative study using Normalisation Process Theory, Sykes, K., Barker, J., Giles, E., Sill, J., Tuschick, E. 7 Nov 2026, In: Psycho-Oncology
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
Using a mobile unit for cervical screening: uptake and user experience of a pilot in the North-East of England, Sykes, K., Giles, E., Fozzard, J., Anderson, F., McGeechan, G. 2026, In: Women’s Health in Primary Care

Further Information

PhD/Doctoral supervision:

Stewart Martin, Northumbria University, Primary Supervisor: Dr Max French. Dr Sykes is qualitative and Q methodology expert.
Toni Collier, Teesside University, Primary Supervisor: Professor Hannah Bartlett. Dr Sykes is qualitative and Q methodology expert.

Ongoing research:

Communicating Medication Concerns: A Co-Designed Talking Mats Approach for Young People and Adults with Learning Disabilities. PI: Dr Lynette Harper. Dates: 1st December 2026 to 30th November 2027.
Be Cancer Aware- Young People: Development and piloting of an educational cancer education course for young people in education settings settings in the North East and North Cumbria. PI: Dr Sykes. Dates: 4th January 2027 to 30th June 2027.
Advancing Cancer sCreening for Equitable Services for people with an Intellectual Disability (ACCESS-ID). PI: Dr Genevieve Breau. Dates: 1st January 2027 to 31st December 2029.

Qualifications