Dr Sonali Shah has a background in Social Science, specialising in Disability Studies. Her current research focuses on health inequalities of adults with cerebral palsy across the life course. She has developed various projects on disability and the life course, funded by different research grants and fellowships. She uses exciting approaches including animation, film, theatre and life histories, to engage her work with a diversity of stakeholders and to bring an awareness of disability and social change to non-academic and young audiences, and to provide a platform for disabled people to have a voice in the development of practices and policies that impact their lives. She has taught on postgraduate and undergraduate courses about disability across the life course.Sonali is an internationally recognised author with 17 peer reviewed articles and 4 books published in relation to disability and different topics including healthcare, domestic violence, education careers and use of theatre for disabled people across the life course. She co-ordinates the international Facebook group Women Ageing with Cerebral Palsy (WACP). She is founder of the international Facebook support and discussion group, Women Ageing with Cerebral Palsy, and on the editorial boards of Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, and a visiting researcher at the University of Umea in Sweden and University or Melbourne, Australia. She is co-editor of a special issue of The History of the Family (on disability, partnership and family formation).
Current Research
NIHR Personal Award. Improving The Participation and Accessibility of Cervical Screening Programmes for Women with Cerebral Palsy. Lead fellow: Dr Sonali Shah; Mentors: Prof Joanne Morling University of Nottingham) , Prof Karl Atkin (University of York), Prof Christine Imms (University of Melbourne), Prof Jo Leonardi-Bee (University of Nottingham). £39335. 8 months. Dec 2024 - Jul 2025. Collaborators: USA Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Scope UK.
Aim of award
- Develop collaborations with a team of academic mentors, experts and advisors (national and international).
- Develop new knowledge and skills through training and mentoring.
- Build a fellowship team (academics, practitioners and advisors).
- Draw on the fellowship team and training to develop a detailed Advanced Fellowship proposal, based on the below outline.
- Submit Advanced Fellowship proposal in June 2025.
Aims of research
- Enhance equal access to and regular participation in cervical screening for women and girls with cerebral palsy.
- Increase informed awareness and knowledge of the importance of cervical screening among teenage girls and young adult women with CP aged 14-25 - from menarche to the age women are offered cervical screening.
NIHR Programme Development Grant. Falling in the lives of adults with Cerebral Palsy: Taking action to prevent, manage, and support through the life course. PI: Dr Sonali Shah; Co-PA: Professor Pip Logan; Co-I: Prof Tony Avery; Co-I: Dr Neil Chadborn (University of Nottingham); Co-I: Dr Jennifer Ryan (University of Dublin). Nottingham Healthcare Trust. £25000. 24 months. Aug 2025 - Aug 2027. Collaborators: Scope UK.
Past Research
NIHR RfPB (Stage 2). RICH: RIghts and CHoices for women with cerebral palsy - A qualitative study to understand what works in the provision of their maternity care. Lead PI: Dr Sonali Shah. Co-PI: Dr Nia Jones (School of Medicine, University of Nottingham). Co-I's: Prof Karl Atkin (University of York); Prof Helen Spiby (Health Sciences, University of Nottingham). £150,000. 16 Months. Jul 2023-Nov 2024. Collaborators: Scope UK
Summary of key findings
- Several examples of good support from individual practitioners (e.g. midwives, physios, and anaesthetists).
- Generally poor knowledge and understanding of the effects of adult CP among healthcare professionals, particularly the interplay between impairment effects and pregnancy and childbirth.
- Considerable variability in the support available, suggesting a lack of consistency.
- Practitioners' limited knowledge of CP effects caused fears around safety during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally.
- Overall, practitioners did not listen and learn from the expert patient or support their choices.
- Lack of continuity of practitioner care. Anxiety for patients having to explain their situation repeatedly.
- Limited reasonable adjustments were made for mothers with CP in postnatal care, including allowing families/partners to stay to support overnight.
- Women and their families needed personal agency and resilience to ensure their choices and rights were achieved.
- Women had to find and fund breast-feeding support, adaptive equipment, and resources themselves. NHS maternity services have no specialist provision. Women had to pay privately for additional therapy and support.
- Some women experienced deterioration in their impairment after giving birth.
Resources
These are some of the resources produced as part of the NIHR research project, RIghts and CHoices. They were co-produced with women with cerebral palsy experiencing maternity care in the UK, Scope Charity, and the RICH PPI group.
The resources were developed by ScienceSplained.
Web page: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/healthofolderpeople/projects/rich-study/index.asp
NIHR RfPB. Living Healthy Lives: Exploring affects of growing older with cerebral palsy and use of healthcare services across the life course. Lead PI: Dr Sonali Shah. Co-PI: Prof Pip Logan (School of Medicine, University of Nottingham). Co-I's : Scope; Prof Janice McLaughlin (Newcastle University) ; Prof Tony Avery (School of Medicine, University of Nottingham). £150,000. 18 months. Aug 2021 - Feb 2023 (ext Aug 2023). Collaborators: Scope UK
Web page: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/go/ALTHEA
Burdett Foundation for Nursing (Research Fellow - Shah). Eternal: Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for girls and women with cerebral palsy across the life course. PI: Prof Julie Taylor. £200,000. 24 months. March 2019-February 2021.
Adams Smith Research Foundation (Principal Investigator - Shah) 'A socio-cultural exploration at the lives of polio survivors through the interdisciplinary lens of narrative and performance - a pilot', CI: Professor Malcolm Nicholson. January 2015 - July 2015. £3570
Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund (Principal Investigator - Shah) 'Hidden Voices: Experiences of Violence for Disabled Women over the life course'. Collaborators: Rape Crisis Scotland, Shakti Womens Aid, Engender, Inclusion Scotland. October-December 2014. £3550
Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness (Principal Investigator - Shah ), 'Disabilities, Technologies, Medicine & Childhood', CI: Mclaughlin (Newcastle), Till(Leeds Beckett), and Patterson (Glasgow). June - September 2014. 67074/1. £5898.
Daphne Stream, European Commission, (Lead UK Partner - Shah), 'Access to specialised victim support services for women with disabilities who have experienced violence', (Austria, UK, Germany, Iceland), February 2013 - January 2015, Eur 916,255.98 /£760761
ESRC Follow-On Fund (Principal Investigator - Shah). 'Performing Social Research: Bringing Disability History to 21st Century Audiences'. CI: Professor Mick Wallis, Dr Phillip Kiszley. October 2011 - October 2012. RG.SLSP.481503. £84934.28
AHRC Beyond Text Programme. £12,423 ( Principal Investigator - Shah). The Performance of Disability Histories: Remembrance and Transmission: CI: Prof Mark Priestley. October 2009 - October 2010. AH/G000638/1.
Nuffield Foundation New Career Development Fellowship (Research Fellow - Shah). 'Including a New Generation: Using Qualitative Methods to Understand Disabled People's Lives in the 21st Century'. CI/Mentor: Professor Mark Priestley. January 2006 - February 2010. NCF/32361. £149k.