ESRC DTP Collaborative Studentship: International Collaboration on the Health Economic Evaluation of Health Screening

University of Warwick and the UK National Screening Committee

The Midlands Graduate School is an accredited Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). One of 15 such partnerships in the UK, the Midlands Graduate School is a collaboration between the Universities of Warwick, Birmingham, Nottingham, Aston Leicester, Loughborough, De Montfort and Nottingham Trent.

The University of Warwickas part of Midlands Graduate School is now inviting applications for an ESRC Doctoral Studentship in association with our collaborative partner the UK National Screening Committeeto commence in October 2024.

This is an exciting opportunity for a researcher looking to specialise in health economics to learn cutting edge research skills, working directly with policy makers and impacting international policy.

Policymakers are under increasing pressure to make efficient use of existing healthcare resources and use economic evaluation to assess the economic impacts of health technologies. However, economic evaluation of most health screening programmes only takes place in a few, typically high-income, countries who have the resources available to undertake evaluations. This disparity makes it challenging for some countries to implement policies on health screening, further exacerbating global health inequities. The ability to transfer economic evaluation evidence across countries would make better use of resources.

To date, methods for assessing the transferability of economic evaluation evidence have not been applied or adapted to health screening. This PhD aims to bridge this gap in knowledge.

It will include a systematic review looking at transferability of economic evaluations by county/context, applying these principles to selected case studies and interviews with health screening health economists. A framework will then be developed to assess and promote the transferability of evidence on health screening from other countries to inform UK decision-making. This framework will be developed in collaboration with the UK NSC and used to underpin health screening evidence reviews going forwards.

The PhD candidate will be supervised at the University of Warwick by Bethany Shinkins, Professor of Health Economics, Screening and Diagnosis and Sian Taylor-Phillips, Professor of Population Health.

The studentship is in collaboration with the UK National Screening Committee, who will provide a mentor and develop a programme of training, data collection, and dissemination visits throughout the PhD.

We are looking for someone with a health economics background (or transferable skills, such as medical statistics), who is enthusiastic and keen to learn. Extensive training and support will be provided on the evaluation of health screening programmes.

Application Process

To be considered for this PhD, please click 'Apply’ button above to be redirected to our website, where you can download an application pack for the Collaborative Studentship application form. Please also upload an anonymised CV, cover letter, details of two references and a copy of the transcripts of your academic qualifications as part of the online application process.

Please note the following entry requirements: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/study/researchdegrees/entryrequirements

Application deadline: Tuesday 20th February 2024

Interviews will be held on: Tuesday 5th March 2024

Midlands Graduate School ESRC DTP

Our ESRC studentships cover fees at the home rate, a maintenance stipend, and extensive support for research training, as well as research activity support grants. Support is available to both home and international applicants. For further details, visit: www.mgsdtp.ac.uk/studentships/eligibility/ .

Informal enquiries about the research or Warwick Medical School prior to application can be directed to Professor Bethany Shinkins [email protected] .