<!--anchor--> <!--anchor--> Research Assistant or Associate in Health Economics <!--anchor-->

We seek an excellent, enthusiastic Research Assistant or Research Associate with a background in health economics, health econometrics, health services research, epidemiology or medical statistics. 

This position will contribute to the project “Understanding Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs) in Lambeth and Southwark” by conducting quantitative analyses on health service use and costs for individuals with MLTCs. The project is funded by the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity led by Dr Mark Ashworth.

The Research Assistant or Associate will work as part of a team, with project investigators (including this post’s supervisor, Dr Marina Soley-Bori), to deliver a shared understanding of the journey to multimorbidity, the consequences of multimorbidity, and the impact of COVID19 on use of services.

The funders have a strong focus on the local community and engagement with the community.  

This post will be offered as a fixed-term until 30th September 2022 

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent

•       Collect and attach appropriate unit cost data to heath service use data and produce total costs at a patient level for both primary and secondary care 

•       Develop detailed analysis plans for review

•       Provide a range of descriptive analyses of health service use and cost with multimorbidity over time

•       Examine completeness and validity of data

•       Conduct uni- and multivariate regression analyses with longitudinal data using the Lambeth DataNet and links to Secondary Uses Service (SUS) data to examine variation across time and patients

•       Examine and interpret findings in light of previous research findings

•       Support analysis on the impact of Covid-19 on health service use and achievement of clinical targets for individuals with multimorbidity

•       Prepare, revise and submit reports on time to funder and publications in peer reviewed journals

•       Present research to multidisciplinary audiences from internal meetings to international conferences. 

•       Support the development of grant applications as directed

•       Contribute at least 30 hours teaching support (including marking) as directed by line manager

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Essential criteria for Grade 6 (Research Associate)  

•       Postgraduate degree in health economics, economics, medical statistics, health services research, epidemiology or other relevant discipline

•       PhD in health economics, health services research, economics, epidemiology, or medical statistics or other relevant discipline (or equivalent, subject to the agreement of the Executive Dean of Faculty)

•       Experience in a wide range of data analyses and data visualisation techniques.

•       Proficiency with a statistical package such as SAS, STATA, SPSS or R.

•       Excellent record keeping and a very high standard approach to research integrity.

•       Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality, consistent results in a timely fashion, and respond well to direction.

•       Ability to solve complex problems and work effectively in a team.

•       Excellent ability to understand, interpret, and communicate (orally and in writing) complex scientific data to non-specialists.

•       Being self-motivated and willing to work independently, as well as part of a larger interdisciplinary team

•       Evidence of consistent contributions to organisational administration and teams

•       Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias

Desirable criteria for Grade 6

•       Training in health economics

•       Experience of cross-sectional and longitudinal multivariate regression techniques and handling of missing data

•       Engagement in multidisciplinary research projects 

•       Experience of writing for peer-reviewed publication 

•       Experience presenting at meetings or conferences 

*Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6. 

Essential criteria for Grade 5 (Research Assistant)

•       Bachelor’s Degree/Postgraduate Qualification in economics, statistics, epidemiology, public health or other quantitative subject.  

•       Some experience using analytical techniques and data visualization techniques 

•       Some experience with a statistical package such as SAS, STATA, SPSS or R. 

•       Excellent written and oral communication skills 

•       Excellent organisational skills and ability to prioritise different task demands 

•       Understanding of data confidentiality and research integrity 

•       Knowledge of research design 

•       Good attention to detail and high standards of accuracy in all aspects of work 

•       A demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide range of colleagues 

•       Being self-motivated and willing to work independently, as well as part of a larger interdisciplinary team 

•       Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias 

Desirable criteria for Grade 5

•       Postgraduate qualification in health economics 

•       Experience in data analyses including cross-sectional analysis, longitudinal analysis and/or missing data analysis 

•       Experience of writing reports/papers 

Candidates are strongly encouraged to specifically address the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification in their covering letter. 

Health economics, statistics and ethnography have been integral parts of the GSTT-funded research project on multi-morbidity led by Dr Mark Ashworth.  This post will be focused on the next phase of research, which focuses on integrating primary and secondary care data.  The team will be assessing patterns of health care use and costs, and causes of variation to investigate the ‘journey’ to multimorbidity and its impact using Lambeth Data Net.  We will also assess the impact of Covid-19 on health service use and achievement of clinical targets for individuals with multimorbidity.   

The post holder will work with a team of 4 health economists as well as statisticians, database managers and clinicians to support delivery of this research.  

The funders have a strong focus and engagement with the local community. 

Further information:

https://www.gsttcharity.org.uk/sites/default/files/GSTTC_MLTC_Report_2018.pdf  

https://bjgp.org/content/bjgp/71/702/e39.full.pdf  

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666776221000247  

The School of Population Health & Environmental Science’s research comprises Analytics (broadly defined as the discovery and interpretation of meaningful patterns in quantitative and qualitative data), Investigation (broadly exploring analytical solutions to complex problems at the individual as well as population level) and AppliedResearch (broadly using analytics, including laboratory investigations, to identify needs and propose and evaluate new solutions to global societal health and social problems). This informs our approach and focus to developing and conducting research that addresses major questions, such as long-term conditions, multimorbidity, and environmental impacts on population health.   

This is an exciting time to join the Department and the School as we will soon merge with the existing School of Life Course Sciences. This will bring together very considerable clinical, scientific, and population/global health strengths. There are already many examples of joint working and collaboration between the two Schools, and it is envisaged that there will be significant opportunities to collaborate further and draw upon the critical mass of clinical, methodological, and applied researchers in the new, integrated School. The School will be one of the largest in the Faculty with strong links to the NIHR BRC and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration and with King’s Health Partners Clinical Academic Groups and Institutes, with the enormous potential to further leverage these synergies. 

About the Faculty: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/index.aspx 

About the School of Population Health and Environmental Sciences: www.kcl.ac.uk/sphes