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Prof M Whitehead
Prof J Hawker
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Gastrointestinal Infections
Hospital admissions for gastroenteritis are nearly twice as high in the most deprived parts of the country as compared to more affluent areas. However there is only limited evidence indicating how multiple pathways interact within the domestic and public social context to produce these inequalities. We do not know for example whether higher admission rates are due to differences in access to healthcare, health seeking behaviours or risk of infection. Studies investigating risk of GI diseases have focused on factors that influence average risks and not whether there are conditions specific to disadvantaged neighbourhoods and communities that increase risk.
The focus of this PhD will be on investigating how the characteristics of people, their socioeconomic environment, and local health and care services interact within disadvantaged places, to influence the risk, vulnerability and consequences of infection. It will use primary qualitative and observational data along with local routine and documentary data sources to investigate:
- The factors potentially relevant to the transmission, vulnerability and consequences of GI within selected neighbourhoods in the North West of England;
- How the social environment interacts with individual vulnerabilities to increase risk of infection;
- How social and economic consequences of infection are modified by social circumstances;
- How interactions with local informal and formal care systems result in particular forms of health care utilization.
It is envisaged that the PhD will utilise a number of participatory qualitative techniques, including mapping, community walks and semi-structured interviews, alongside analysis of local routinely available datasets, such as environmental health records, laboratory and disease surveillance data, consumer data, and data indicating the location and characteristics of local food and retail networks, housing types and quality, community centres, child-care facilities, health and care systems and population groups.
This studentship is being offered by the recently established Health Protection Research Unit in Gastrointestinal Infections, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It will be based at the Department of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, a leading centre for health inequalities research. It will provide a great opportunity to work in the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit which combines the complementary strengths of the Universities of Liverpool, East Anglia (UEA), Oxford, and the Institute for Food Research, in partnership with Public Health England, to create a critical mass of internationally recognised researchers who deliver world-leading health protection research in gastrointestinal infections.
It is essential that candidates have a 2.1 or 1st class degree in a relevant social or population health science discipline. A Masters degree in a relevant discipline would be an advantage, as would clear evidence of an interest in developing mixed methods expertise in the study of health inequalities.
Please email your application to:
[Email Address Removed]
This should consist of two documents attached as PDFs; a CV and a covering letter. Please limit your CV to three pages. Do not attach any other documents. The subject heading of the email should only state ’HPRU PhD Application 2015’. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed in due course.
Hospital admissions for gastroenteritis are nearly twice as high in the most deprived parts of the country as compared to more affluent areas. However there is only limited evidence indicating how multiple pathways interact within the domestic and public social context to produce these inequalities. We do not know for example whether higher admission rates are due to differences in access to healthcare, health seeking behaviours or risk of infection. Studies investigating risk of GI diseases have focused on factors that influence average risks and not whether there are conditions specific to disadvantaged neighbourhoods and communities that increase risk.
The focus of this PhD will be on investigating how the characteristics of people, their socioeconomic environment, and local health and care services interact within disadvantaged places, to influence the risk, vulnerability and consequences of infection. It will use primary qualitative and observational data along with local routine and documentary data sources to investigate:
- The factors potentially relevant to the transmission, vulnerability and consequences of GI within selected neighbourhoods in the North West of England;
- How the social environment interacts with individual vulnerabilities to increase risk of infection;
- How social and economic consequences of infection are modified by social circumstances;
- How interactions with local informal and formal care systems result in particular forms of health care utilization.
It is envisaged that the PhD will utilise a number of participatory qualitative techniques, including mapping, community walks and semi-structured interviews, alongside analysis of local routinely available datasets, such as environmental health records, laboratory and disease surveillance data, consumer data, and data indicating the location and characteristics of local food and retail networks, housing types and quality, community centres, child-care facilities, health and care systems and population groups.
This studentship is being offered by the recently established Health Protection Research Unit in Gastrointestinal Infections, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It will be based at the Department of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, a leading centre for health inequalities research. It will provide a great opportunity to work in the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit which combines the complementary strengths of the Universities of Liverpool, East Anglia (UEA), Oxford, and the Institute for Food Research, in partnership with Public Health England, to create a critical mass of internationally recognised researchers who deliver world-leading health protection research in gastrointestinal infections.
It is essential that candidates have a 2.1 or 1st class degree in a relevant social or population health science discipline. A Masters degree in a relevant discipline would be an advantage, as would clear evidence of an interest in developing mixed methods expertise in the study of health inequalities.
Please email your application to:
[Email Address Removed]
This should consist of two documents attached as PDFs; a CV and a covering letter. Please limit your CV to three pages. Do not attach any other documents. The subject heading of the email should only state ’HPRU PhD Application 2015’. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed in due course.
Funding Notes
This PhD position is for three years and provides a full stipend. Students should be prepared to spend portions of their PhD at the different sites involved in this PhD.
Note we are only recruiting UK/EU/home rated students and only eligible students should apply.
Note we are only recruiting UK/EU/home rated students and only eligible students should apply.
References
For further information and discussion, please contact Ben Barr at benbarr@liverpool.ac.uk
Project supervisors
Career overview
Em P Margaret Whitehead holds the W.H. Duncan Chair of Public Health in the Department of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool. She is a member and former lead of the ‘Health Inequalities and Policy’ research group. With over thirty years of experience, her expertise encompasses public health, health inequalities, social epidemiology, health and social policy analysis, and evidence synthesis. She has been deeply engaged in addressing social inequalities in health, contributing to major inquiries such as the updating of the Black Report in ‘the Health Divide’, the Acheson Inquiry, and the Review of Health Inequalities in England Post-2010. Additionally, she served on the Senior Advisory Board of the WHO European Review of Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide. In 2014, she chaired the Independent Inquiry into Health Equity for the North of England, known as the Due North Report, commissioned by Public Health England. This report provided recommendations for collaboration among Northern agencies and central government to improve health equity. From 2005 to 2020, she was the founding Head of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Policy Research on Determinants of Health Equity, which focused on a range of issues from ethics to action in health equity. The Centre has been re-designated by WHO for a further four-year programme of work. Whitehead was awarded a Damehood in the 2016 New Year Honours list for her services to public health, particularly in health inequalities. She was recognised as an ‘Outstanding Woman in Medicine’ by the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK in 2018 and was nominated as one of the nation''s top 100 ''lifesavers'' by Universities UK in 2019. In 2021, she was ranked in the top 1% of most cited researchers worldwide in her field by Clarivate. Currently, she serves as Chair of the Independent Review of Equity in Medical Devices, investigating biases in medical devices used in the NHS.
Research interests
Em P Margaret Whitehead''s research focuses on public health, health inequalities, social epidemiology, and health and social policy analysis. She has a passionate interest in social inequalities in health, particularly in strategies to tackle them. Over her thirty-year career, she has contributed to significant inquiries on health inequalities, including the updating of the Black Report, the Acheson Inquiry, and the Review of Health Inequalities in England Post-2010. She chaired the Independent Inquiry into Health Equity for the North of England, which resulted in the Due North Report, providing recommendations for collaboration among agencies to address health equity. From 2005 to 2020, she was the founding Head of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Policy Research on Determinants of Health Equity, where her work encompassed a range of issues from ethics to action, including developing indicators of policy progress across Europe. She is currently involved in a new four-year programme of work with WHO under the new directorship of Prof. Ben Barr. Whitehead has been recognised for her contributions to public health, receiving a Damehood for her services, and has been ranked in the top 1% of most cited researchers in her field. She is currently Chair of the Independent Review of Equity in Medical Devices, investigating biases in medical devices used in the NHS.
Public Health
Health Inequalities
Social Epidemiology
Health Policy Analysis
Evidence Synthesis
Social Determinants of Health
Health Equity
Health Systems
Health Research
Health Policy
WHO Collaborating Centre
Health Divide
Social Inequalities
Independent Inquiry
Northern England
Medical Devices
Ethnic Biases
Population Health
Health Equity Indicators
Health Recommendations
Health Inquiry
Social Medicine.
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