Improving understanding of patient involvement in improving the safety of their own care worldwide and in the English NHS

Background to the project

The Midlands Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) has been funded by the NIHR for 5 years to improve patient safety in acute and maternal care, and is seeking to recruit a PhD student. The NHS Patient Safety Strategy and the World Health Organisation “Patients for Patient Safety” initiative highlights patient and family involvement in their own safety as a focus area. This is because patients are often an excellent source of information about their health status, preferences, and needs. To this end, the PSRC is keenly interested in improving understanding of this topic.

Patient involvement in their own safety can take various forms, such as providing feedback, reporting errors, participating in decision making, and engaging in self-care. This may include implementing mechanisms for patients to add key information to their health records, technologies like mobile apps, and health literacy training. However, the evidence on the effectiveness and impact of these strategies is limited and inconsistent.

While there have been some reviews in this area, these have not been updated in over a decade. Therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive and up-to-date systematic review on methods for patient contribution to improving the safety of their own care in hospitals.

We are aware that there may also be many means through which patients are involved in their care in the UK that are not reported in the academic literature. Therefore, the PhD would also seek to survey NHS Trusts to determine other means by which this is facilitated and how these fit into the framework developed in the systematic review. This will also enable understanding of any strategies developed overseas but not used here, to enable adoption of these strategies in the UK.

The latter parts of this PhD might build on these to co-develop an intervention for improving patient safety through direct patient involvement. The precise scope of the tool (e.g., generic or disease specific) would be determined by the prior activities. The PSRC has access to NHS Trusts and patient groups to enable intervention co-design.

Research aims:

1)     To understand the range of methods used for patients used to directly improve the safety of their own care in hospital settings worldwide.

2)     To understand the current range of methods used for patients to directly improve the safety of their own care in the English NHS.

3)     To co-develop an intervention to enhance patient involvement in the safety of their own care with NHS patients.

Details of supervision

Lead supervisor: Prof. Alice Turner; Professor of respiratory medicine and director of the PSRC. She is an experienced Masters (n~10), doctoral (n=10) and post-doctoral supervisor.

Co-supervisor: Dr. Justin Aunger; Research Fellow in the PSRC with experience in applied health research projects involving NHS Trusts, including systematic reviews and surveys.

Details of PPI

The PSRC has existing PPI groups and the PhD student would be supported by Dr. Magdalena Skyrbrant, PPI lead in the PSRC, as well as Dr. Justin Aunger to deliver PPI aspects of their project.

Application routes

Applications are to be emailed to Dr Justin Aunger [Email Address Removed]

Applicants will need to submit the following documentation during the application process.

• Detailed CV, including your nationality and country of birth;

• Covering letter highlighting your research experience/capabilities and why you wish to undertake this PhD;

• Names, details, and contact information of two referees;

• Copies of your degree certificates with transcripts written in English;

• Evidence of your proficiency in the English language, if applicable.

• Evidence of scholarship application/funding or independent funding.

Applicants will need:

·        A 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.

·        Master’s degree not required but desired.

And, for international students, either:

_{An English language qualification at the right level}

_{Please note IELTS requirements for Postgraduate Research programmes in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences are 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any band}

_{Taking and successfully completing one of our English courses for international student}

We expect applicants to be invited for an interview either face to face or via Teams/Zoom if their application is promising.