How Should Disability Be Represented in Health Research?

In this video, Dr Elaine Cagulada discusses her work on Disability Matters, an international research programme exploring disability, health, and inclusion. As part of the Canadian team, she focuses on a key question: how can we reimagine representations of disability in health research?

Elaine reflects on how disability is often portrayed in medicine as a problem to be fixed, treated, or solved. Through Disability Matters, she and her colleagues are exploring alternative ways of understanding disability that recognise the complexity, diversity, and richness of disabled people's lives.

The video highlights a range of activities, including conversations with disabled activists, researchers, educators, and healthcare professionals. These discussions examine how disability is represented in research, education, and medical practice, and how those representations shape the way people think about health and care.

Drawing on disability studies and interpretive research approaches, Elaine explains how the project seeks to challenge familiar assumptions and open up new possibilities for understanding embodied difference. By questioning dominant narratives and exploring new perspectives, Disability Matters aims to support more inclusive health research that better reflects the experiences and priorities of disabled people.