Una's one passion is overcoming health inequalities

Una is a national leader in early cancer diagnosis research and contributes to policy development in this field. Her research interests are in primary care, cancer, and health inequalities, and she is at the forefront of improving the pathways of patients with cancer to diagnosis and treatment.

She is a Professor of Primary Care Medicine at Hull York Medical School and continues to work clinically on the ground as a GP at Bransholme Health Centre in Hull. She was a non-executive director at Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust from 2020-2024 and the Dean of Hull York Medical School from January 2017 to January 2024.

Professor Una Macleod

U.M.Macleod@hull.ac.uk

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Cancer is one of the world’s greatest health challenges. In the UK, 1 in 2 people will get cancer in their lifetime. We want to radically change the pathway of people to cancer diagnosis so that cancer is diagnosed sooner. Our research will help make this aim a reality.

Professor Una Macleod

Professor of Primary Care Medicine at Hull York Medical School

Una's current research projects include:

TRANSFORM: Reducing inequalities in cancer outcomes in Yorkshire: Realising our potential for innovation in diagnosis, patient management, survivorship and palliative care research. The programme focussed on understanding and tackling cancer inequalities and improving health outcomes across the region. The programme has funded 25 researchers and staff and conducted 23 projects. Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.

PEOPLE-HULL: Primary care and community Engagement to Optimise time to Presentation with lung cancer symptoms. Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Catch-up HPV screening project - this research will help to improve the diagnosis cervical cancer.

More information about Una's cancer research can be found here.

Tell us how you’re helping to address health inequalities in the region?

Through our research, we are addressing key gaps in knowledge related to inequalities in the experience of and outcomes from cancer, especially related to socio-economic differences. We are focusing on early diagnosis and detection and we want to increase public understanding of symptoms and how primary care can respond.

What motivates you in your work?

According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 375,000 cancer cases in the UK every year – that's around 1,000 every day. And according to Yorkshire Cancer Research, approximately 30,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year in Yorkshire. People are also more likely to be diagnosed and die from cancer in Yorkshire than almost anywhere else in England. This is related to health inequalities. We want to change that.

How is the research that you and your team do making a difference?

We’ve looked at whether changes in general practice could contribute to an overall improvement in cancer diagnosis and survival. There is evidence that, for a number of cancers, poorer outcomes can be directly related to delays in the initial diagnosis – and hence referral and treatment.

Our work has included an innovative approach to improving practice by systematically reviewing cases where a delay in diagnosis has occurred. The findings of the research have since been adopted by the Royal College of General Practitioners to roll out a national pilot, with the aim of increasing early referral of patients and ultimately improving successful treatment and reducing cancer deaths. Macmillan Cancer Support now continue this work. We are seeking to add the patient voice to this process via one of the TRANSFORM programme projects.

Community Impact

Una publishes regularly, advancing our knowledge of health inequalities with a special focus on cancer research.

Recent publications:

A qualitative exploration of women's perspectives and acceptability of including new cancer awareness information in all‐clear breast or cervical screening results (2022). Bamidele, O. O., Green, T., Tookey, S., Walabyeki, J., & Macleod, U. (2022). A qualitative exploration of women's perspectives and acceptability of including new cancer awareness information in all‐clear breast or cervical screening results. European Journal of Cancer Care.
Making sense of ‘best start’: exploring the early experiences of mothers in low-socioeconomic areas (2022). Thesis Miles, H. B. (2022). Hull York Medical School, the University of Hull and the University of York.
Geographical distance and reduced access to palliative radiotherapy: Systematic review and meta-analysis (2022). Chand, C. P., Greenley, S., Macleod, U., Lind, M., Barton, R., & Kelly, C. (2022). Geographical distance and reduced access to palliative radiotherapy: Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ supportive & palliative care.
The PEOPLE-HULL Study: improving help-seeking for lung symptoms in Hull. Trial registration (2021). Mitchell, L., Macleod, U., & Walabyeki, J. (2021). The PEOPLE-HULL Study: improving help-seeking for lung symptoms in Hull. Trial registration. [Dataset].