April 2022

This page has co-produced outputs from a research study undertaken by Disabled lay researchers supported by Shaping Our Lives and academics at King’s College London, in partnership with the British Association of Social Workers.

The research was prompted by the major shift to digital communication (for example, Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp etc.) between social workers and Disabled service users brought about by Covid-19, and earlier research by Shaping Our Lives on the experiences of Disabled people in accessing services.

We hope you find these outputs helpful. We will be adding more as they become available. So please check back here again.

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, School for Social Care Research (project number P183). The full name of the research study was: “Improving experiences regarding the use of digital communication technologies in interactions between Disabled service users and social workers in adult services: a qualitative service user conducted enquiry to inform best practice”. The research team were: Sophie Sarre (King’s College London), Becki Meakin (Shaping Our Lives), Luke Geoghegan (British Association of Social Workers) and the lay researchers Roxane Lavanchy, Charlie Sanders, Shani Minogue, Tom Fadden, Molly O’Brien and Elizabeth Baker.

Additional related resources:

As well as downloading the guide for Disabled people and the practice guide for social workers below, you may also wish to check out the webinar on our YouTube channel (with BSL translation)

There is also a podcast called What the tech? Co-producing an approach to digital communications that empowers Disabled service users, which can be listened to via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

And there is a journal article in the British Journal of Social Work – Co-producing Research with Disabled Lay Researchers: Lessons from a Project Exploring Social Workers’ Use of Digital Communication Technologies with Disabled Users of Social Work Services.

Download practice guide for social workers (PDF)Download guide for Disabled people (PDF, print version)Download guide for Disabled people (PDF, online version)Download guide for Disabled people (PDF, easy read version)Download guide for Disabled people (PDF, large print version)Download the summary of research findings (Word)