What Are the Health Priorities of Disabled People?

In this video, Dr Ankita Mishra shares her work on Disability Matters, an international research programme exploring the health priorities of disabled people in Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, and the UK. Working with disabled people's organisations and community partners, the project places disability at the centre of research rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Focusing on work in India, Ankita explains how the team uses participatory and creative research methods to understand what health means in different contexts. Through workshops, discussions, storytelling, and collaborative activities, disabled people shape the research and identify the issues that matter most to them. The findings reveal that health is about much more than healthcare. It can include food, community, dignity, belonging, relationships, and connection to place.

The video also highlights the importance of accessible and inclusive research practices, from multilingual resources to long term partnerships with communities. Reflecting on her own experiences as a researcher, Ankita discusses how Disability Matters is helping to build new ways of producing knowledge that are rooted in care, collaboration, and the principle of "nothing about us without us".