Kate's PhD used the Socio-Ecological Model to understand why women with learning disabilities are less likely, than women without learning disabilities, to attend cervical and breast cancer screening. Kate has used Q methodology to engage with women with learning disability, family carer and paid carers to understand their attitudes, opinions and experiences.

Kate has a diverse range of research interests covering the public health domain. Specifically, Kate research interests are in health inequalities, learning disabilities, avoidable and preventable deaths, health systems and access to health services.    

Current projects:

• Developing a co-designed systems-level response to safety issues for residents transitioning from hospital to care homes (SafeST study, https://research.northumbria.ac.uk/safest) - Started January 2021.
• Implementation of mental HEAlth uRgent and emergency
  care interventions for frequent service use: An evaluation
  study (HEAR) - Started January 2022.
• Identifying the barriers and facilitators for people with severe mental illness and/or learning disabilities for PErson Centred Cancer Screening services (PECCS) - Started March 2022 (Kate is a Principle Investigator).

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• 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
• Exploring the inequalities of women with learning disabilities deciding to attend, and then accessing cervical and breast cancer screening, using the Social Ecological Model, Sykes, K., McGeechan, G., Giles, E. 18 Mar 2024, In: British Journal of Learning Disabilities
• Challenges and improvements associated with transitions between hospitals and care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study with care home and healthcare staff in England, Newman, C., Mulrine, S., Brittain, K., Dawson, P., Mason, C., Spencer, M., Sykes, K., Underwood, F., Young-Murphy, L., Waring, J., Scott, J. Sep 2023, In: Age and Ageing
• 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. 9 Nov 2023, In: Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
• A protocol to identify the barriers and facilitators for people with severe mental illness and/or learning disabilities for PErson Centred Cancer Screening services (PECCS), Sykes, K., Tuschick, E., Giles, E., Kanmodi , K., Barker, J. 30 Nov 2022, In: PLoS One
• A systematic review and qualitative synthesis of the experience of living with colorectal cancer as a chronic illness, McGeechan, G., Byrnes, K., Campbell, M., Carthy, N., Eberhardt, J., Paton, W., Swainston, K., Giles, E. 4 Mar 2022, In: Psychology & Health
• Factor influencing women with learning disabilities deciding to, and accessing, cervical and breast cancer screening: Findings from a Q methodology study of women with learning disabilities, family and paid carers, Sykes, K., McGeechan, G., Crawford, H., Giles, E. 1 Nov 2022, In: European Journal of Cancer Care
• Residents transitioning between hospital and care homes: protocol for codesigning a systems-level response to safety issues (SafeST study), Scott, J., Brittain, K., Byrnes, K., Dawson, P., Mulrine, S., Spencer, M., Waring, J., Young-Murphy, L. 6 Jan 2022, In: BMJ Open
• Trialling a volunteer workforce to provide psychosocial care to hospital inpatients: a plan-do-study-act project, McKeown, D., Byrnes, K. 2 Apr 2022, In: British Journal of Health Care Management
• An exploration of the attitudes, opinions, and perspectives of women with learning disabilities and carers, towards accessing the NHS cervical and breast cancer screening programmes, Byrnes, K. 15 Oct 2021

Kate has a BSc (Hons) and MSc in Psychology and recently completed her PhD in Public Health. Kate used the Socio-Ecological Model to understand why women with learning disabilities are less likely, than women without learning disabilities, to attend cervical and breast cancer screening. Kate has used Q methodology to engage with women with learning disability, family carer and paid carers to understand their attitudes, opinions and experiences.

Kate is also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has extensive involvment in learning and teaching of research methods (including systematic reviews) and topics relating to primary healtchare of people with learning disabilities. Prior to starting her PhD, Kate worked in a local NHS Foundation Trust as a Research and Development Facilitator, where she had responsibility for collating ethical approval for research, setting up research studies and monitoring throughout the researchs team frame. 

• Health Studies MSc October 04 2016
• Psychology BSc (Hons) September 01 2015
• Health PhD