PhD opportunity with the Department of Social Work and Social Care at University of Birmingham

The Department of Social Work and Social Care is recruiting one fully funded, full-time, three year PhD studentship, starting in October 2020.

Falling within the Acute Care research theme, the studentship aims to support a promising researcher in the field of community-based health and social care for older people. The focus is a new community-based service in Birmingham that provides acute care to older people in care homes or their own homes, avoiding the need for hospital admission.

Examples of relevant areas of enquiry include (but are not restricted to):

• How does this model compare with other ‘hospital at home’ initiatives both in the UK and internationally?
• How effectively do health and social care organisations collaborate in the design and delivery of the service?    
• What are the implications for social care of the community-based acute service and how are these addressed by the service?
• What are the experiences of older people and carers (both unpaid and paid) of the model and what can we learn from these?   

Eligibility: Available to a candidate of high academic calibre who has experience in health and social care with older people and wishes to conduct doctoral level study within this field. A successful applicant will be expected to have a very good undergraduate degree: a minimum of a 2:1, preferably a first class honours. They should also hold, or expect to achieve, a very good Masters degree (at a distinction level) in a relevant subject.

Assessment: Applications will be assessed on (a) the quality of the student's academic achievements and preparedness for doctoral level study; (b) the student’s knowledge and experience of health and social care practice with older people (c) the quality of the research proposal; (d) the potential to contribute to cutting edge research.

Salary: A full scholarship covers Home/EU fees plus a living allowance of £20,707 per annum for three years, subject to satisfactory progress.

For further information, please contact the supervisors:
Dr. Denise Tanner, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Work and Social Care
Professor Daniel Lasserson, Professor of Ambulatory Care, Institute of Applied Health Research

How to apply
Potential candidates should apply to undertake a PhD within the Department of Social Work and Social Care at the University of Birmingham, and indicate when applying that they want to be considered for this studentship.

Click here for guidance on the application process.