BRIGHTLIGHT_2021

Welcome

BRIGHTLIGHT is the name young people gave to our programme of research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in 2011. This collection of research projects is designed to answer a single question: Do specialist services for teenagers and young adults (TYA) add value? The original five studies were funded by the NIHR through their Programme Grant for Applied Research funding stream (grant reference RP-PG-1209-10013). These focus on:

  • The environments in which care was delivered
  • The competencies of healthcare professionals delivering care
  • Young people’s experience of care
  • The cost of care (to the NHS but also to young people and their families)

All of these studies were developed together with young people who had experience of cancer. Many of these young people are still involved in our research in the BRIGHTLIGHT Young Advisory Panel (YAP). If you want to read more about these studies and what we found, please see Our Studies.

The number of research studies included in the BRIGHTLIGHT portfolio has increased since 2011 to address issues we’ve experienced along the way but to also address some of the things young people have told us they want more work done on.

BRIGHTLIGHT was developed by young people for young people

The Young person’s Advisory Panel (YAP) includes young people who have a previous diagnosis of cancer. Some have been involved from the beginning when the project was being developed and others have joined more recently. The YAP plays an essential role in advising the research team on all aspects of study management. Young people are integral to our research, so that we know how to deliver care in the best way possible during and after treatment, allowing young people to return to as healthy a life as possible.

The BRIGHTLIGHT Collaboration originally involved clinicians and researchers from London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Southampton, but we are now collaborating with TYA teams across the UK. If you are interested in being involved in our work or collaborating with us, please get in touch.