Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) PhD Studentship
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Please submit your application via our online application system.
Application Deadline: Wednesday 16 April 2014
Health economics applies economic thinking to the analysis of health and health care. It is a relatively young sub-discipline but has grown rapidly. HERU is one of the leading research units in health economics internationally. It has been at the cutting edge of economic research into health for over thirty five years. Applications are invited for one fully-funded PhD studentship commencing in October 2014. We welcome applications in the following topic areas:
Applying Economic Methods to Optimise Self-Management
Supervisors: Dr Paul McNamee and Prof Marjon van der Pol
Self-management of chronic conditions is a key policy priority of the Scottish government. Self-management involves the participant taking an active role in implementation of tasks that enhance the ability to live well with one or more chronic conditions. Tasks include medication adherence, adopting healthy lifestyles, etc. Self-management can be viewed as an economic activity that incurs large initial (and on-going) resources for uncertainreturns, and is likely to be influenced by time and risk preferences. In addition, other factors such as social support, resilience and personality are also likely to interplay with these preferences. This thesis will build on current research that is investigating the composition, acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of self-management strategies, and examine the role of time and risk preferences in self-management and explore how these preferences interact with other factors such as personality, resilience and social support. A number of secondary data sources are available for analysis, including the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) data set, as well as the opportunity for new data collection as part of future studies.
Time and Risk Preferences and Health
Supervisor: Prof Marjon van der Pol
Time and risk preferences are key parameters in economic models and determine whether individuals invest in education, pensions, etc but also their health. For example, individuals with a high time preference rate attach relatively greater importance to outcomes occurring now (the pleasure of smoking) as compared to future outcomes (decreased life expectancy). Understanding individuals' time and risk preference can therefore inform appropriate interventions to address health behaviours such as smoking, alcohol, and exercise. Insights into individuals' time and risk preferences are also crucial for economic evaluation of health interventions, in particular with respect to discounting practices and health utility measurement. The Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) has a track record in conducting research into time preferences and preference elicitation more broadly.
The aim of this thesis is to increase our understanding of individuals' time and risk preferences in order to improve our understanding of health behaviours and inform discounting practices in economic evaluation. There are a range of possible issues that could be explored within the thesis:
- Impact of health shocks on time and risk preferences.
- Role of time preference in intergenerational transmission of health (behaviours).
- Quasi-hyperbolic discounting and health behaviours.
- Time preference bias in Time Trade Off (TTO).
Wellbeing and Performance of Health Professionals and Other Public Sector Workers
Supervisors: Dr Diane Skåtun and Prof Keith Bender
In a time when public sector resources are diminishing and yet the demand for public services is increasing, public sector workers are experiencing increased stress in providing appropriate levels of performance given these increasingly binding constraints. This is perhaps most keenly observed in the health service, although no part of the public sector workforce is immune. The main goal of this dissertation, therefore, would be to examine the wellbeing of public sector workers such as health professionals, comparing their wellbeing across a number of public sector occupations. Recent research in economics has highlighted the linkages between performance and wellbeing and thus interesting research questions emerge that could form the basis for this thesis including:
- What has the literature found regarding the wellbeing of public sector workers, particularly focusing on the linkages between wellbeing and performance?
- What policies regarding recruitment and retention increase the wellbeing of public sector workers?
- What can be learned by comparisons of particular public sector occupations? Do health-care occupations such as nursing have different ways of promoting wellbeing than occupations such as social work? Do gender differences in occupations and/or the extent of the use of teams have implications for the well-being of workers?
It is also possible to submit your own proposal as long as it is closely aligned with HERU's research interests. Please contact Marjon van der Pol in first instance to discuss suitability of topic.
Eligibility and Funding
Full funding is available to both UK/EU and international candidates.
Applicants should have (or expect to achieve) a First Class undergraduate degree, or a Distinction at Masters level or equivalent.
Application Process
Candidates should contact the lead supervisor to discuss the project in advance of submitting an application.
Please provide a copy of the degree certificate and transcript for each previous degree undertaken, a copy of your English language proficiency certificate (if relevant), and contact details of two referees who can comment on your previous academic performance (at least one should be from your current degree programme). References will be requested if you are selected for interview. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Please state the name of the supervisor(s) and the title of the project you wish to apply for in the Outline Summary section of the application form. Please also apply for admission to the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Health Economics to ensure that your application will be sent to the correct college for processing.
Candidates will be informed after the closing date if they have been shortlisted for interview.
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