Our work at Changing Faces is based on academic and anecdotal experiences that people with disfigurements share with our Adult Services and Children and Young People Services. We work together with people with disfigurements, to send a strong, personal message to health service providers and commissioners as well as other professionals.

There is an abundance of academic evidence that shows that people with disfigurements are likely to experience emotional, social and psychological difficulties as a result of their visible difference, sometimes in combination with functional impairments. People respond and adjust differently to a changed appearance which depends on factors such as age, ethnicity, gender, cause etc. Some of the available evidence is general whilst the other is condition specific; there is local, national and international research.

The Centre for Appearance Research (CAR), based at the University of the West of England (UWE) acts as a focus and centre of excellence for psychological and interdisciplinary research in appearance, disfigurement and related studies. CAR and Changing Faces have worked in partnership to make a real difference to the lives of the many hundreds of thousands of people with appearance-related concerns both in the United Kingdom and across the world.

For a recommended academic reference list please click here.

To view articles and references published by the Centre for Appearance Research, please click here.

Examples of Changing Faces’ involvement in research projects:

• Our policy adviser in health is currently involved in an orbital exenteration research project into the psychological needs of patients by the Royal Eye Hospital in Manchester. 

• We have provided input on the psychological needs of patients into a project to establish research uncertainties in vitiligo. This project was undertaken by Nottingham University in cooperation with the James Lind Alliance.