Grounded in evidence.
Driven by impact.
CancerPath has been developed using doctoral research focused on cancer help-seeking behaviour, health inequalities and earlier diagnosis. Every feature is informed by peer-reviewed evidence and established public health frameworks.
Six pillars of evidence
CancerPath draws on a broad and rigorous evidence base spanning clinical research, behavioural science and digital health innovation.
Cancer Help-Seeking Behaviour
CancerPath is grounded in research into the Pathways to Treatment model and the three-delay framework — understanding appraisal delay, illness delay and help-seeking delay, and how digital interventions can reduce each.
- Appraisal, illness and help-seeking delay models
- Psychological and social barriers to help-seeking
- Behaviour change intervention design
- Digital health engagement strategies
Health Inequalities and Cancer Outcomes
Research into how socioeconomic, cultural, geographic and structural factors affect cancer awareness, screening participation and stage at diagnosis — and how digital tools can address these disparities.
- Socioeconomic determinants of cancer outcomes
- Cultural barriers to screening engagement
- Geographic inequalities in cancer awareness
- Digital inclusion and health equity
Earlier Diagnosis and Survival
Evidence-based approaches to shifting the stage at which cancers are diagnosed — drawing on national audit data, Cancer Research UK research and NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for earlier diagnosis.
- Stage at diagnosis and survival outcomes
- NHS earlier diagnosis ambitions
- Primary care presentation patterns
- Symptom awareness and recognition
Digital Health Intervention Design
Applying established frameworks for digital behaviour change intervention design — including the Behaviour Change Wheel, COM-B model and NICE digital health evidence standards — to cancer awareness and screening engagement.
- Behaviour Change Wheel and COM-B model
- NICE digital health evidence standards
- User-centred design principles
- Engagement and retention strategies
Patient and Public Involvement
CancerPath development has been informed by patient and public involvement, ensuring the platform reflects the real experiences, needs and preferences of the communities it is designed to serve.
- Co-design with community members
- Lived experience integration
- Diverse community representation
- Iterative user testing and feedback
Implementation and Scale
Research into implementation science and digital health scale-up — understanding what works, for whom and in what contexts — to support sustainable adoption of CancerPath across NHS and community settings.
- Implementation science frameworks
- NHS digital adoption pathways
- Evaluation and outcome measurement
- Scale-up and spread strategies
Informed by the best available evidence
CancerPath draws on a wide body of evidence spanning clinical guidelines, public health research and digital health innovation literature.
Our development process has been guided by established frameworks for cancer awareness, behaviour change and health equity — ensuring the platform is both clinically credible and practically effective.
Designed to make a measurable difference
Pilot data and outcome metrics will be published as evaluation programmes progress.
Earlier Symptom Recognition
Reducing the time between noticing a symptom and recognising it as potentially serious.
Increased Screening Engagement
Supporting greater participation in NHS bowel, breast, cervical and lung screening programmes.
Reduced Help-Seeking Delays
Addressing psychological and social barriers that cause people to delay seeking professional advice.
Improved Health Equity
Reaching underserved communities and reducing inequalities in cancer awareness and outcomes.
Interested in the research behind CancerPath?
We welcome collaboration with researchers, universities and public health organisations.