CLAHRC MSc Studentship in Health Services Research

Posted on 25 July 2012

Fully-funded MSc award linked to the Born in Bradford Study. Applications are invited for a MSc studentship to start in October 2012.

The award is available for students undertaking a full-time 1 year programme leading to the degree of MSc in Health Services Research. The award will cover academic fees at the UK/EU rate and a maintenance grant in-line with Research Council UK stipends (£13,590 for 2012/13). A project support grant of £1000 over the course of the MSc can be used at the discretion of the supervisors to support research expenses.

Application Deadline: 17th August 2012

Supervisors:
Professor Kate Pickett, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
Professor John Wright, Bradford Institute for Health Research

Title: Can a Research Project Change a City?

Project: The Maternal and Child Health Theme of the NIHR-funded CLAHRC for Leeds, York and Bradford aims to address inequalities in child health and well-being, focusing on 4 areas: antenatal exposures to risk factors in utero (particularly smoking); infant and child feeding and obesity; maternal mental health; access to health and social care services. We have been engaging clinical staff in investigation of the ways data are collected, stored, analysed and presented, providing practitioners with research-calibre information related to inequalities, health and well-being in the populations they serve, and engaging partners to support these activities.

The Born in Bradford (BiB) study - a birth cohort embedded in clinical practice in Leeds and Bradford – has been the platform for building bridges between research and practice, and the study has been at the core of the work we do. BiB was established to: learn why rates of infant and child morbidity and mortality are high in Bradford; help plan ways to improve health for people in Bradford; work with families, communities, health professionals and all whose actions can help to make Bradford a healthier place

As the CLAHRC for Leeds York and Bradford enters its final year of funding, the MCH theme and BiB would like to address the question – “Can a research project change a city?”

We wish to recruit a candidate with some experience of qualitative research (particularly interviews and focus group methodologies), facilitation, and policy, to conduct a year-long dissertation project to address this question. The selected student will register for the MSc in Health Sciences at the University of York, where they will undertake further training in qualitative and quantitative research skills, and additional modules with a focus on health inequalities and health policy. The student will investigate whether - through public involvement, changes in practice and attitudes among Born in Bradford study subjects, care providers and clinicians, and policy makers across the public sector - change has been effected, as well as whether this has, or has the potential to, result in reduced inequalities in health. Methods might include: quantitative analysis of interventions (e.g., interrupted time series); analysis of data collection practices pre- and post-intervention; interviews with key informants; focus groups with BiB families, midwives, health visitors etc; content analysis of documents and media coverage related to the project. The studentship is likely to appeal to applicants with backgrounds related to policy, with an interest in health and social inequality.

Entry requirements: Applicants must hold a first award at undergraduate level equivalent to a UK 2:1 honours degree (and a score of at least 7.0 on the academic IELTS test if English is not the first language).

To apply: Please apply to Professor John Wright (john.wright@bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk), including an outline of how you might develop the research project, a letter confirming your suitability for the studentship, and CV. Be sure to state in your application that you are applying for the CLAHRC MCH studentship. Successful applicants for funding will be invited to make a formal application for MSc admission to the University of York.