Beyond biomedical practices, my research fellowship seeks to better understand why only some people can genuinely participate in narratives of ‘biomedical progress’ and how those experiences impinge upon emic notions of trust and belonging. This is what inspired me to put together the ‘Elusive Risks project” that I unpack on this post.
The goal
The CRUK pump-priming grant ‘ Elusive Risks’, (2019-2021) explored the social worlds of ‘structurally vulnerable’ communities in Cambridgeshire and how their experiences of care and risk inform their strategies to prevent disease and live well.
Instead of asking about well-rehearsed barriers people face to attend healthcare services, and cancer prevention, for example, we wanted to ask a different question. We drew on the avenues that anthropology offers: To consider the lived experiences of a diverse set of social groups to try to understand how they perceive cancer and other health risks in their lives.
Unsurprisingly, for many of those groups, cancer is not a priority. It is one of the issues that can happen to you in a cascade of disasters, and so when you ask about cancer, you hear instead issues around health, poverty and stigma. Those issues are entangled, even when we try to separate them, experientially and disciplinarily.
Team
Together with Maryon Macdonald, I designed and got the grant awarded. Kelly Fagan Robinson joined us from the start of the project as a research associate, greatly contributing during fieldwork, data analysis, and the organisation of engagement activities at the end of the project.
- Principal Investigator: Dr Maryon McDonald
- Co- Investigator: Dr Ignacia Arteaga
- Research Associate: Dr Kelly Fagan Robinson
Acknowledgements
We thank the Garden House at Light Project Peterborough, the Gypsy Roma Traveller Health Hub in Cambridgeshire, the Oasis Community Centre and Click Therapy in Wisbech, and Aspire – Change Grow Live in Peterborough for their steadfast support throughout the project.
This research and the engagement activities were generously supported by a pump-priming award from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme.
Outputs
Our stint of fieldwork and ongoing relationship with some of the groups we met has led to a few conference papers, an opinion piece, a forthcoming book chapter, an arts-based exhibition and a roundtable.
- Arteaga, I., Robinson, K. Macdonald, M. (2020) How to Track and Trace: Look for the superlocals. BMJ Opinion. Available at: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/09/10/covid-19-test-andtrace-look-for-the-superlocals-to-access-hard-to-reach-groups/
- Robinson, K. & I. Arteaga. [Forthcoming] ‘Hard-to-Reach’? Meanings at the margins of Care and Risk in Cancer Research. Bennet, L., Manderson, L., Spagnoletti, B. (Eds.) Cancer Ethnographies: Inequalities, Embodiments and Interventions in Global Perspective. London: UCL Press.
- Kelly and I also organised an arts exhibition “Images of Risk and Care” with works submitted by service users from different communities in Cambridgeshire.
This study has been supported by a pump-priming grant from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme