Reference: SHLS20050
Peripheral Arterial Disease is a common vascular disease characterised by pain and exercise intolerance (termed Intermittent Claudication; IC), due to reduction in blood flow to skeletal muscles in the lower limbs. Patients with IC have impaired quality of life due to reduced physical capacity and improving daily physical activity (PA) is important, as lower PA levels are as a strong predictor of increased morbidity and mortality.
NICE recommends 12 weeks of supervised exercise as the first line of treatment, but access, uptake, and adherence to programmes is very low in the UK NHS. Promising novel interventions combining patient education and pain management are currently being tested at GCU, and the next step is to explore how these can be integrated alongside exercise interventions.
Aims
The aim of this PhD project is to co-create, with key contributions from people with lived experience and healthcare professionals, an evidence-based intervention to increase free-living PA in individuals with IC. It is envisaged that this intervention may include a combination of structured exercise, patient education and pain management however, the final content, design and delivery will be determined by the co-creation process.
Relevance and importance of this research:
If the intervention developed through this PhD is feasible, acceptable and effective for patients with PAD and IC, it may be established as a safe, cost-effective, non-pharmacological intervention that facilitates self-management of this debilitating and life-limiting long-term condition.
This PhD project is part of the work of the Ageing Well Research Group and aligns to the overall university Research Themes of Public Health and Management of Long-Term Conditions https://www.gcu.ac.uk/hls/research/researchgroups/ageingwell/
The successful applicant will hold a relevant first degree in healthcare subject (medicine, nursing or allied health professions) or exercise physiology.
Candidates are requested to submit a more detailed proposal (maximum 2000 words) as part of the application.
How to Apply
This project is available as a 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time PhD study programme with expected start date of 1 October 2021.
Candidates are encouraged to contact the research supervisors for the project before applying.
For full-time study of this project, apply here
For part-time study of this project, apply here
Applicants shortlisted for the PhD project will be contacted for an interview within four weeks from the closing date.
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