Intrecci: a UniSR project for more inclusive and accessible cancer diagnosis

Promoting a fairer, more inclusive, and more attentive healthcare system: this is the objective of Intrecci, the new research project coordinated by Prof. Cristina Renzi of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, funded by Fondazione Cariplo within the Inequalities Research – Generating Knowledge to Reduce Inequalities program.

The project stems from the awareness that people with disabilities still face significant barriers in accessing cancer screening and diagnostic tests, leading to delayed diagnoses and worse clinical outcomes. Intrecci aims to address this challenge by weaving together multidisciplinary expertise, experiences, and perspectives, identifying critical issues in early diagnosis pathways and proposing concrete solutions to ensure equal health opportunities.

The research is structured into four areas of work, including analysis of healthcare data, qualitative interviews, assessment of healthcare facility accessibility, and co-design of operational recommendations with associations and institutions.

A strategic aspect of the project is the intention to translate gathered evidence into useful tools for healthcare planning and public policy. Indeed, the results of Intrecci will flow into a policy brief aimed at institutions, local authorities, and decision-makers, with the goal of guiding guidelines and organizational practices toward greater equity in early diagnosis access. In this way, research becomes a driver of real change, helping reduce structural inequalities and promote a more inclusive health governance model.

Another distinctive feature of the project, consistent with the mission of Fondazione Cariplo and the educational approach of UniSR, is the direct involvement of young professionals and healthcare trainees: researchers, PhD candidates, medical residents, and thesis students actively participate in research activities, finding in Intrecci an opportunity for professional growth and exchange with multidisciplinary experts.

Project partners include ATS Città Metropolitana di Milano, Politecnico di Milano – Department ABC – Design & Health Lab, LEDHA, DAMA, the Lombard Academy of Public Health, and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, which contributes to participant recruitment and the integration of clinical perspectives with social and environmental ones.

“Intrecci represents a concrete example of how research can generate real change,” says Prof. Renzi. “Thanks to cooperation between institutions and the direct involvement of people with disabilities, we aim to build diagnostic pathways that are more accessible, timely, and personalized.”

The project reaffirms UniSR’s commitment to promoting a culture of care and research grounded in respect for differences, listening, and inclusion.

Through Intrecci, UniSR also contributes to shaping fairer and more sustainable health policies, centered on people’s experiences and capable of transforming scientific knowledge into concrete actions for equity. A further step toward a type of medicine that not only treats, but includes and prevents.

Intrecci is just one of the initiatives through which UniSR renews its focus on vulnerability, valuing the human dimension of medicine and dialogue between disciplines as tools for innovation and social justice.

For more information about the project: ilprogetto.intrecci@unisr.it