Irene Tuffrey-Wijne

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne is a Professor at Kingston University specializing in palliative care for people with intellectual disabilities. Her research focuses on inclusive healthcare, end-of-life planning, and co-design methodologies involving individuals with learning disabilities. She leads multi-phase studies to develop accessible care tools and address health inequities for vulnerable populations.

Her work employs mixed-methods approaches, including focus groups, ethnographic studies, and UK-wide surveys. Research themes include ethical decision-making in euthanasia cases, sleep and nutrition interventions, and hospital care adaptation for children with disabilities. Publications emphasize stakeholder collaboration, with recent projects co-designing resources for transitions in care and parental loss support.

Key initiatives include the LeDeR program investigating premature deaths in learning-disabled populations and developing conversation aids for shared decision-making. Tuffrey-Wijne champions participatory research, training people with intellectual disabilities as co-researchers to amplify marginalized voices in health policy.