Postdoctoral Fellow - Rapid Health Technology Assessment

8 Jan 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

RCSI - Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Department

Human Resources

Research Field

Medical sciences » Health sciences

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Ireland

Application Deadline

4 Feb 2024 - 23:55 (Europe/Dublin)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

39

Offer Starting Date

4 Mar 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow
Department: Dept Public Health & Epidemiology, School of Population Health
Reporting to: Dr Barbara Clyne
Location: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin 2
Contract/Duration: Specified Purpose Contract (18 months), full-time
Remuneration: IUA scale: Experienced post doctorate researcher (PD2), Level 1
Closing Date: February 4th 2024

About the School of Population Health

Established in 2022, the School of Population Health (SPH) builds on existing strengths at RCSI in behavioural science for population health, analytic and population health sciences. The School comprises the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Department of Health Psychology, Data Science Centre, Healthcare Outcomes Research Centre, Institute of Global Surgery and SPHeRE (Structured Population health, Policy and Health-services Research Education – national doctoral programme). It includes some 75 academic, research and professional staff, as well as 28 PhD scholars. Population health scientists and researchers at RCSI have an impressive, multi-year track record undertaking impactful multi-disciplinary research and collaborating with an extensive network of international and national partners.

Project Overview

This project is an eighteen-month project funded by a Health Research Board (HRB) Applied Partnership Award (APA), led by Dr Barbara Clyne (RCSI) and Dr Mairin Ryan (Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)). HIQA is an independent authority that exists to improve health and social care services for the people of Ireland. The scope of HIQA’s Health Technology Assessment (HTA) directorate work includes providing evidence synthesis and evidence-based advice to inform public health policy, and providing HTAs to inform decision making on investment or disinvestment in health technologies and programmes, including decisions in relation to national screening and national immunisation programmes.

Summary of Post

Background to the Project

HTA is a systematic evaluation of the benefits and harms of a health technology that aims to inform healthcare policy such as investment (or disinvestment) decisions. Producing HTA’s is a lengthy process involving searching and assessing the available evidence on the clinical, economic, social, and ethical issues related to a health technology. HTAs support and inform decision-making by policy makers, who are increasingly requesting HTAs to be done more quickly. These Rapid HTAs must balance the trade-off between robustness of the evidence base and efficiency of production. However, consensus regarding what ‘rapid’ is, and regarding methodological approaches and pragmatic guidance for rapid HTA conduct is limited to date. This project is a collaboration between RCSI researchers and HIQA, with the overall aim of elaborating the definition and role of rapid HTAs. The outcomes of the project are expected to influence national-level policy, health service decisions and international practice, and therefore may be highly impactful.

This aim will be achieved across a number of work packages which will involve:

Establishing a public and patient involvement (PPI) panel;

Comparing and contrasting different rapid HTA products internationally and mapping their specific steps through a scoping review;

Eliciting stakeholders’ preferences for rapid HTA products and perceptions of the role of stakeholder engagement in rapid HTAs through qualitative semi-structured interviews and a discrete choice experiment.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will be a highly motivated health services researcher with a history of successful project management of complex research projects. Ideally, they will be a mixed methods researcher and will have expertise in a minimum of one of the methodologies listed above.

Specifically, the duties of the post are:

• Work with the PI, Research Assistant, PPI panel and wider research team, to ensure the success of the project;
• Conduct scoping review and analysis of data;
• Develop, pilot and refine data collection methods (qualitative interviews, discrete choice experiment)
• Recruit participants;
• Conduct and analyse qualitative interviews, discrete choice experiment;
• Develop research ethics applications where appropriate;
• Contribute to peer reviewed academic publications;
• Assist in the dissemination of research findings to academic and policy audiences (via conferences etc.);
• Support the preparation for project management group meetings;
• Undertake other duties and responsibilities as may be determined by the PI.

Requirements

Research Field

Medical sciences » Health sciences

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Qualifications – (Essential):

• PhD or equivalent in a relevant area (e.g. health services research, social science, psychology, health economics, sociology).
• Track record in Health Services Research/Population Health research with demonstrable relevant technical skills, for example, qualitative interview skills.

Knowledge & Experience – (Essential):

• Evidence of conducting/and or taking part in all aspects of:
  • Scoping reviews; OR
  • Qualitative studies, from study design to data collection, analysis and publication of findings; OR
  • Discrete choice experiments.
• Project management experience with strong organisational and administrative skills and ability to prioritise objectives and work under deadlines;
• Excellent writing skills and experience of publication in international peer review journals in a relevant field;
• Knowledge of the healthcare environment in Ireland and understanding of the role of HTA in policy making;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• The ability to work on one’s own initiative as well as in a team environment.

Knowledge & Experience – (Desirable):

• Experience in developing and working with PPI panels;
• Computer skills including ability to use appropriate software such as NVivo and Covidence.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Medical sciences » Health sciences

Years of Research Experience

4 - 10

Additional Information
Benefits

Employee Benefits

RCSI make sure you have the resources you need to thrive by offering a wide range of benefits in areas including time away, finance, community, health, and well-being and insuring your financial future. Below are some additional benefits available to you as an RCSI employee:

• Minimum of 20 days annual leave, plus an additional 6.5 Privilege days
• Flexible/hybrid working options for colleagues across many roles
• Additional leave options incl. paid maternity leave, paternity/parental leave, study leave
• 7% Employer pension contribution
• Onsite gym €10 per/mth incl. classes and PT sessions
• Childcare support 20% discount at Giraffe
• Free eye test and annual flu vaccination
• TaxSaver commuter tickets and Bike to Work schemes
• A site sustainability team focusing on the environmental initiatives; Green Campus Initiative ’
• Competitively priced café and restaurant
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion forums, and network groups
• Employee assistance programme with Spectrum Life
• Learning and Development training programmes incl. LinkedIn Learning for career progression
• Discounted services incl. GP visits, 10% off dental, staff parking, mobile tariffs, Group Scheme discount on numerous brands
• Sports and social club incl. yoga, Pilates, fitness classes, Zumba, running club, social evenings, Summer BBQ
• Ticket Draws for events including; Rugby, Taste of Dublin, Dublin Horse Show, theatre, music & comedy events

Additional comments

Application Process

Please apply online through the RCSI careers portal on the closing date with your CV and cover letter.

Informal Enquiries can be directed to Dr Barbara Clyne ([email protected] ).  Please note we do not accept CVs directly. 

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Country

Ireland

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://bit.ly/3NWsEB0

Contact

City

Dublin

Website

http://www.rcsi.ie/careers

Street

121/122 St. Stephen's Green

STATUS: EXPIRED