PhD Studentship
Helping parents protect their children: Behavioural determinants of parental vaccination decisions
Behavioural Science

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in Behavioural Science funded by the Health Protection Agency. This three year studentship (one of seven currently available) attracts a stipend of £14,350 pa (including London weighting).

The studentship is to be held in the Clinical Safety Research Unit of Imperial College London (www.csru.org.uk), under the supervision of Dr. Nick Sevdalis. The student will have the opportunity to visit relevant HPA sites and become informed of HPA activities.

Applicants should have a first or upper second class degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Psychology/Behavioural Science). Informal enquiries about the post and the research project should be directed to Dr. Nick Sevdalis (n.sevdalis@imperial.ac.uk).

Childhood vaccination should be routine; however, some parents consistently refuse vaccination for their children. Some evidence suggests that such parents mistrust ‘artificial’ health treatments and that they perceive their children highly at risk to be harmed by vaccines, particularly since vaccines are often subject to health scares (e.g., MMR vaccine in the UK, HepB vaccine in France, polio vaccine in Africa). Although parental beliefs and negative publicity
probably affect vaccination decision-making, the mental processes that underlie such decisions are poorly understood. The proposed research aims to address this lacuna by systematically investigating and modelling the mental processes that underpin parental vaccination decision-making.

The Health Protection Agency is an independent public sector body whose role is to provide an integrated approach to protecting UK public health. The HPA has a large network of approximately 3000 staff based at three major centres (Colindale, Porton and Chilton) and
regionally and locally throughout England.

To apply, please complete the on-line application form (to which other relevant information can be attached) found at www.hpa.org.uk/careers/default.htm