2nd July 2023, 23:59 BST
Interviews to be held in mid-late July 2023
CriteriaThe studentship opportunity is open to all candidates with the following requirements:
PhD Scholarship in Primary care and/or community care supported by the Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS)
The University of Kent, in collaboration with the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey, Sussex are offering a PhD scholarship (3-year full-time or 5 years part-time) to be based in the Centre for Health Services Studies. We welcome applications to undertake research focusing on primary and/or community care in line with the areas of interest below commencing in September 2023. The studentship is linked to the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey and Sussex which aims to develop applied health and social care research across the region for the benefit of patients and the public.
About CHSS, University of Kent
The Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS) is a centre of research excellence in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research within the Division of Law, Society and Social Justice at the University of Kent. CHSS undertakes high quality research into a wide range of health systems and health services issues at local, national and international levels. CHSS also supports and advises health care staff to develop and undertake research projects. CHSS collaborates with a wide range of partners in Kent, the UK and in other countries to improve the links between research, policy and practice.
About NIHR ARCs
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the nation's largest funder of health and care research and provides the people, facilities and technology that enables research to thrive. NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. The NIHR ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS) is one of 15 ARCs across England, part of a £135 million investment by the NIHR to improve the health and care of patients and the public.
Each NIHR ARC is made up of local providers of NHS services, local providers of care services, NHS commissioners, local authorities, universities, private companies and charities. These collaborations work together to conduct high quality, generalisable, applied health and care research that addresses the specific health or care issues in their region. NIHR ARCs also act to close the second translational gap and increase the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice. The 15 ARCs work collaboratively to address national research priorities, with individual ARCs providing national leadership in their areas of expertise. NIHR ARC KSS supports applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. The ARC KSS will focus on regional challenges including:
• Significant social deprivation, mainly located in our coastal towns
• Numerous GP practice closures resulting in a high GP to patient ratios
• Higher than average children in care, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and young people with self-harm and emotional problems
• A higher proportion of older people
• The highest concentration of people with dementia in the UK
Scholarship information
The research studentship will be based within the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent. We welcome applications from prospective students interested in Primary and community care research. Current areas of interest include but are not limited to the following:
financially incentivising quality improvement in general practice
service provision using a place-based approach, focussing on health inequalities and vulnerable groups in the following settings:
We are looking for students who are enthusiastic about applied health and social care research and can become part of the research communities within ARC KSS and the University of Kent. The research studentships will be linked to the ARC KSS academy and benefit from research training and support across the Kent, Surrey and Sussex area as well as regional programmes of applied health and social care research.
How to applyapply text
Submit an online application, selecting the PhD in Applied Health Research (full time or part-time). Applicants MUST include the following upload to supplement their application form:
a clear and succinct 2-page research proposal uploaded as a word document (in Arial font, point 11) to your application using the following headings:
Please note that we require applicants to submit all documents, including references where available, by the deadline of 23:59 BST, Sunday 2nd July 2023. This includes the 2-page research proposal supporting documents (CV) and relevant transcripts.
Questions regarding the online application process : [email protected] or [email protected]
We encourage potential applicants to have a 15-minute conversation about your research proposal content prior to submitting an application with: Dr Melanie Rees-Roberts: [email protected]