PhD Scholarship in Health and Human Sciences

The Department of Health and Human Sciences at the University of Essexinvites applications for a 3-year PhD scholarship starting in April or October2005. The successful applicant will receive an annual allowance towards tuitionfees and maintenance, of up to a maximum of £10,000 for full-time study.Subject to work permit requirements you will be permitted to undertake some paidemployment by mutual agreement.

The Department of Health and Human Sciences has an excellent reputation forresearch and teaching in health and social care. In the 2001 UKResearch Assessment Exercise are research was submitted with the Department ofSociology which achieved the highest possible rating. However, we are amulti-disciplinary department which hosts PhD students with a wide range ofdisciplinary backgrounds. Applications for this scholarship are particularlywelcome in the following areas:

• Experience and impact of chronic illness. Supervisor: Dr Gill Green

• Microsimulation modelling of options for financing long-term care. Supervisor: Prof Ruth Hancock

• Process and outcome research on the psychotherapeutic treatment of refractory depression. Supervisor: Prof Phil Richardson

• Health trajectories and inequalities. Supervisor: Dr David Pevalin

Applicants wishing to pursue a PhD or Professional Doctorate in other areasrelevant to the Department's research are also encouraged to apply.

Further details and an application form are available at:

http://www.essex.ac.uk/hhs/pg/pg-scholarships.htm

or contact Kirstie Sceats, GraduateAdministrator

Completed application forms should be returned to by 28^thFebruary 2005.

Further Details

Experience and impact of chronic illness

This would include research which addressed mainstreamsociological/psychosocial issues identified in the field of chronic illness suchas stigma, biographical disruption and (re)construction of identity. Acomparative study across two or more chronic conditions is particularlyencouraged. The research should also have an applied focus so that findings areof practical as well as theoretical interest, e.g. linked into the literature onuser involvement or other relevant service developments or policies. Applicantsshould be qualified in a relevant social science discipline. Contact Gill Green

Microsimulation modelling of long-term carefinancing options

This would involve the construction and application ofa microsimulation model to project future costs and distributional consequencesof alternative options for paying for long-term care for older people. Thestudent could develop the supervisor's existing model or construct a separatemodel. The model could be specific to a single country/locality or be capable ofbeing applied in a range of countries; be based on real micro data relating to asample of current and future older people, or synthetic data or a combination ofthe two. Applicants should be qualified in a relevant numerate discipline. Contact Ruth Hancock.

Process and outcome research on thepsychotherapeutic treatment of refractory depression

The student would join a team of researchers who arecurrently conducting a randomised trial of individual once weekly psychoanalyticpsychotherapy for refractory depression. The trial is based in the AdultDepartment of the Tavistock Clinic in North London and the student would beprimarily based at the Belsize Centre (the joint academic unit of the Universityof Essex and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust) - a few minutes walk fromthe Clinic. The student could develop work that is currently ongoing or developa new piece of therapy process research using the extensive archive ofaudio-recorded therapy sessions. Applicants will need a good degree inPsychology. Contact Phil Richardson

Health trajectories and inequalities

This work would be founded on investigating some of the"drivers" for health inequalities in dynamic models of healthimprovement or deterioration over the medium and long-term. This would involvethe use of semi-parametric, group based trajectory analysis of longitudinal datafrom large-scale datasets. The student would be expected to develop models ofhealth trajectories using a variety of data sources and identify precursors andconsequences to these trajectories. The analysis could be specific to a singlecountry or be cross-national. Applicants should be qualified in a relevantnumerate discipline and familiar with statistical software packages. ContactDavid Pevalin.

URL Link: PhD Scholarship in Health and Human Sciences - University of Essex