Category: Academy Studentship

Two PhD studentships jointly funded by CLAHRC and the School for Public Health Research

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Two National Institute for Health Research funded PhD studentships available

The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) North Thames and the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) based at UCL invite applications for two jointly-funded 3-year PhD studentships at UCL to begin September 2018. Supervisors are drawn from across both the NIHR CLAHRC North Thames and NIHR SPHR. PhD projects align with the following NIHR CLAHRC North Thames and NIHR SPHR themes:

  • Children and Young People
  • Public Mental Health
  • Inequalities

The benefit of this collaborative initiative include joint funding from two high profile NIHR research collaborations, which facilitates the opportunity for unparalleled access to leading applied and public health experts, supervisors who are leaders in their field, channels for dissemination of research and participation in bespoke training and a strong network and community of graduate students and researchers. From the four topics outlined below, two will be funded through these joint studentships.

PhD Research Topics

  1. Integrated legal advice and health services

Supervised by Prof Rosalind Raine (NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, NIHR SPHR, UCL), Prof Dame Hazel Genn (UCL Centre for Access to Justice) and Dr Charlotte Woodhead (NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, NIHR SPHR, UCL)

  1. Exploring the value of linked health and council data to examine associations between adverse childhood experiences and its consequences using linked population and health datasets

Supervisory panel includes Dr Jessica Sheringham (NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, UCL), Dr Manuel Gomes (UCL) and Dr Sarah Dougan (London Borough of Islington)

  1. Exploring the value of linked health and council data to examine the clustering of multimorbidity and associated unplanned service use

Supervisory panel includes Dr Jessica Sheringham (NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, UCL), Dr Manuel Gomes (UCL) and Dr Sarah Dougan (London Borough of Islington)

  1. Closing the gap in adverse physical health outcomes for people with poor mental health: exploring the role of healthcare provision and care pathways

Supervised by Dr Kate Walters (NIHR SPHR, UCL) and Prof David Osborn (NIHR SPHR, UCL)

Further details of all topics and methodological expertise or experience required can be found here: PhD Studentships – CLAHRC SPHR Full Description 2018 

Eligibility

Candidates should hold a Master’s qualification (or complete their Master’s by September 2018) in an appropriate discipline and have a minimum of a 2:1 or equivalent in their first degree. Applicants should preferably have knowledge of the UK health and care system. All applicants are required to have excellent written and verbal communication skills. They should also be willing to work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary and multi-professional teams.

Due to funding restrictions applicants must be UK/EU nationals. Please refer to UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) for details of these criteria.

How to apply

Your application should consist of a CV, contact details of two academic referees, and a personal statement (1,000 words maximum) describing your suitability for the proposed project(s) including how your research experience, skills and interests relate to the NIHR CLAHRC North Thames and NIHR SPHR project(s). In your application, please indicate which project(s) you wish to be considered for.

Please send your application or queries about projects to Dr Silvie Cooper, NIHR CLAHRC North Thames Academy Teaching Fellow (silvie.cooper@ucl.ac.uk).

Closing date for applications: 17.00, 15 May 2018

Interviews: 25 May 2018

PhD start date: 01 September 2018 (or earlier if desired)

Duration: 3 years, full time

Stipend:  £19,158

 

Quality of life in dementia: do staff and family share the same beliefs in care homes?

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Sarah Robertson is a PhD student with funding from the NIHR Collaborations in Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care. Sarah is currently supervised by Professor Gill Livingston, Dr Claudia Cooper & Dr Juanita Hoe.

The MARQUE project

In 2012, the UK government announced that in the face of “one of the biggest health challenges ever” that it was time to “fight back” against dementia. In response, the ESRC & NIHR pledged £9 million towards “Improving Dementia Care”. One of the projects funded by this initiative is the Managing Agitation Raising Quality of LifE (MARQUE) project at UCL led by Professor Gill Livingston. MARQUE began in 2014 and aims to improve our understanding of agitation in care homes and improve the quality of life of people with dementia. Sarah has been working as part of the MARQUE team at UCL and this work inspired her thesis comparing the perspective of paid and family carers in quality of life.

Proxy rated quality of life

Measuring quality of life in dementia presents unique challenges. With the stakes so high, it is important that we understand what we are actually measuring to know whether our interventions to enable people to live well are successful. Many people with dementia in care homes cannot provide ratings on their own quality of life so we rely on the perspectives of people close to them. We call these proxy reports. These reports differ to self-reported quality which has raised questions about the validity of this outcome. However, we do not know how staff and family proxy reports compare.

How do staff and family ratings compare?

MARQUE collected the perspectives of both staff proxies and family proxies from 86 care homes across England; providing 1,054 pairs of proxy ratings in the largest sample to date. For the first time, we used mixed method to explore staff and family ratings.

Our results suggest that staff and family proxies think differently about the quality of life of the same individual with dementia. Quantitative data from this study reveals that staff generally perceive the quality of life as better than family. Staff and family are affected by their own understandings of dementia and their experiences with care. Staff often viewed quality of life as synonymous with quality of care, whereas, family were more influenced by their past experiences.

Many relatives found that the person with dementia had changed. For some, this change centred on loss which they felt evidenced a poor quality of life. Other relatives felt that quality of life is simply not possible living in a care home. Transitioning into a care home is not only stressful at the time, it may leave a lasting impact on how relatives view the quality of life of a person with dementia in the future. Relatives need support to think about how the person with dementia feels in the present moment, focusing on their enjoyment of life with an acceptance of the current situation. Better communication and transparency in care routines helped facilitate relative involvement within care homes, establishing trust which improved perceived quality of life and reduced family carer stress.

What does this mean for dementia research?

  • Proxy reports provide valid measures of perceived quality of life.
  • Proxy raters are influenced by their own context and experiences.
  • Proxy ratings by different raters cannot be used interchangeably.
  • Different proxy ratings may be differently sensitive to interventions.
  • The different opinions of all key stakeholders should be considered.

What does this mean for clinical practice?

  • Within care homes, there are context specific factors that influence resident quality of life.
  • Psychological interventions that target loss, focus on acceptance and enable proxies to find meaning could improve perceived quality of life.
  • Improving the relationship between staff & family could improve perceived quality of life.
  • There may a link between perceived quality of life and carer quality of life.

 Contact –      Email: sarah.robertson@ucl.ac.uk                  Twitter: @1SarahMae, @MARQUEproject                

Quality of life in dementia: are the views of care home staff and relatives the same?

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CLAHRC PhD Sarah Robertson is focusing on the quality of life of people living with dementia. Part of Sarah’s work compares the perspective of paid and family carers in quality of life. In a blog published on the Economic and Social Research Council website Sarah discusses the views of care home staff and relatives.

 

Meredith Hawking

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Queen Mary University of London

Email: m.k.d.hawking@qmul.ac.uk

Meredith holds a Master’s in Public Health from Cardiff University, and a Human Sciences undergraduate degree from the University of Sussex. Prior to joining the institute Meredith worked for the Public Health England Primary Care Unit as a research assistant on antimicrobial stewardship projects, with a focus on understanding public perceptions of infections and antibiotics, and designing and evaluating behaviour change interventions around antibiotic taking and prescribing.

Her current research explores cardiovascular disease: understanding patient narratives around atrial fibrillation and adherence to anticoagulation.

Dr Alistair Connell

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Ali qualified as a doctor in 2010. After completing his Core Medical Training in August 2014, he was appointed Clinical Fellow at the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance, joining a project using large datasets to predict patient decline in hospital. Under the supervision of Prof Hugh Montgomery and Prof Rosalind Raine, he has now started a PhD examining the effects of the implementation of a digitally-enabled care pathway for patients with Acute Kidney Injury. His clinical interests include nephrology and critical care.