Skip Main Content

Sinclair Cancer Research Institute

The Sinclair Cancer Research Institute at Queen’s University combats cancer through cutting-edge research, innovative facilities, and the development of new treatments that offer hope to cancer patients.

This case study is available to download in PDF format here.

Dr. Alyson Mahar, Principal Investigator at the institute, called on Open to help develop cognitively accessible knowledge mobilization products based on her groundbreaking research. We rapidly transformed very complex and technical medical language into communications materials easily understood by anyone, without losing the essence of the content.

The Problem

Cancer patients with cognitive disabilities don’t live as long as neurotypical patients. Patient information can be confusing or difficult for some readers to interpret. To better inform and empower patients, the Sinclair Cancer Research Institute wanted to address communication barriers in patient information materials for persons with cognitive disabilities.

The Solution

In collaboration with our neurodivergent Cognitive Accessibility Advisors, Open adapted research findings into accessible language (Easy Read) and infographics. The lived experience of our Accessibility Advisors ensured both the language and professionally designed infographics could be read and understood by persons with a wide range of cognitive abilities.

Services provided:

  • Inclusive Research & Development
  • Inclusive Design
  • Accessibility Testing

The Outcome

By effectively adapting complex medical information into cognitively accessible materials, Open helped the Institute empower more cancer patients—and their caregivers and families—to take charge of their health and treatment.

Testimonials

We have been working with Open for over a year and it has been a pleasure; Open offers a professional, fast, efficient, detailed, and conscientious path to engaging neurodiverse communities as advisors for corporate related accessibility projects.

Nadia Hamilton, CEO, Magnusmode

We work with Open in order to develop a cognitively accessible medication management application. They provided us with a wealth of expertise regarding cognitive disabilities and accessibility while ensuring we received input directly from persons with cognitive disabilities.

Dinis Cabral, CEO, JLG Health Solutions

It is always a pleasure to work with you and your students! They were quite remarkable throughout the process. They were available, accessible and certainly their report today was spot on.

Caroline Granger, Director, Valor & Solutions

Our work with Open has led to meaningful improvements in accessibility. Their process identified unintentional barriers in our materials, and the revisions have made our resources more effective for individuals with diverse cognitive needs.

Lynn Martin, PhD, Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Lakehead University

Thank you for helping make SCERN a success! Based on your feedback, we have made a number of improvements.

Christopher Macdonald Hewitt, Ph.D.