Funding providers: Scar Free Foundation/Health and Care Research Wales
Subject areas: Patient reported outcome measures, PROMs, Skin cancer, Health services research
Project start date: 1 January 2022 (Enrolment open from mid-December)
Aligned programme of study: PhD in Medical and Healthcare Studies
Mode of study: Full-time
Project description:
Background
Skin cancer is a significant and growing societal health problem, with Wales having one of the highest rates of melanoma in the UK. Among Caucasian populations, the incidence of skin cancer is rising faster than that of any other malignancy, with this trend expected to continue. With an ageing national population, longer life expectancy, higher patient expectations and the long-term impact of greater foreign travel now being realised, it is unlikely that the health service will be able to cope unless care services are designed and planned effectively.
As part of the drive in Wales to provide the right care, to the right people at the right time it is important that we understand the patients’ perspective of the care they receive. One way to do this is through the use of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient reported experience measures (PREMs). In order that patient views are incorporated into the way in which healthcare is delivered, allocated and improved, routine collection of PROM/PREM data is mandatory. These data must be: collected using the most appropriately designed and validated questionnaires; comprehensive in their coverage; and linkable to other important outcome measures, such as disease-free survival and complications.
Aims
The aims of this PhD are to:
- identify appropriate PROMs and PREMs for skin cancer patients
- perform validation studies where appropriate
- develop a method for routine collection of PROM and PREM data on all skin cancer patients across the health service in Wales
- integrate this routinely-collected PROM/PREM data with each patient’s other routinely-collected healthcare data
Specific details of the PhD project will be discussed with interested applicants. It is anticipated that the insights gained through combining and integrating these different aspects of work in a single nation such as Wales will inform the development of new ways of working and condition management in skin cancer, supporting the Welsh Government’s ‘prudent healthcare’ agenda.
Facilities
The PhD is funded as part of a £1.2 infrastructural programme grant from the Scar Free Foundation and Health and Care Research Wales awarded to the Reconstructive Surgery and Regenerative Medicine Research Centre at Swansea University. The ReconRegen group is led by Professor Iain Whitaker and has received multiple prestigious accolades and awards, including MRC grants, Fulbright scholarships, Pump priming awards and Royal college of surgeon’s research fellowships. This exciting opportunity will involve working with a group of highly motivated clinical academics to push the boundaries of research within the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The applicant will be based within the dedicated research offices of the ReconRegen group at the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS 1) on the Swansea University Singleton campus. The group has close collaborations with Health and Care Research Wales, Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, The Farr Institute of Health informatics, UK Research and Innovation, Health Data Research UK and Harvard Medical School.
Project supervisors:
- Primary: Professor Iain Whitaker
- Secondary: Professor Hayley Hutchings
- Associate Supervisor: Dr Tom Dobbs
Eligibility
Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University).
English Language requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with at least 5.5 in each individual component) or Swansea recognised equivalent. Details on the Swansea University English Language entry policy can be found here.
Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only.