Dr David Coyle, Mr D Chambers
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Applications are sought from candidates interested in pursuing an interdisciplinary PhD at the intersection of health information technologies, human computer interaction, public health and health promotion. The PhD will focus on investigating the design and development of online resources to support youth mental health.
The successful candidate will be based in the Dublin office for ReachOut Ireland and will be registered for the doctoral programme within the School of Computer Science at University College Dublin.
The programme of research in which the PhD candidate will engage forms part of the TEAM (Technology-Enabled Mental Health for Young People) ITN programme. TEAM is funded by the European Commission through its Marie Sklowdowska Curie programme.
Project description:
Specialised online mental health support communities, such as those provided by ReachOut Ireland, have emerged as a frontline means of supporting mental health in young people. Their growing popularity creates opportunities but also challenges. Effective support requires effective moderation, but moderators are often overwhelmed. Furthermore, there is often no obvious next step when mental health difficulties are identified. Based initially at ReachOut Ireland, the successful candidate will be supervised by Director of Programs and Policy, Derek Chambers. S/he will conduct a systematic literature review of moderated online mental health resources for young people, focusing on evaluating service/moderation models, months 1 to 9 [M1-9]. S/he will then undertake interviews and focus groups with ReachOut moderators to gain experience of online systems that have been successfully deployed at a national scale [M10-12]. S/he will then move to Insight Centre for Data Analytics at UCD for a 6-month intersectoral secondment [M13-18] supervised by Dr Coyle. S/he will investigate intelligent techniques for assessing mental health signals in online communities (e.g. text analysis of discussion forums). S/he will return to ReachOut for the remainder of their fellowship [M19-36] and develop a responsive online tool that will help young people and service moderators to identify difficulties (e.g. gender issues, exam stress, bullying, alcohol). Together with Derek Chambers, Dr Coyle will provide input and co-supervision. This tool will combine self ratings and intelligent techniques to help identify difficulties, track shifts in mood and recommend appropriate next steps from four levels of stepped care: self-help (e.g. online resources); phone service (e.g. helplines); community/voluntary support; or a relevant medical service.
Salary:
The selected PhD student will be paid a gross annual salary of approximately €32,000. They will also be entitled to a mobility allowance of approximately €6,000 per annum and potentially a family allowance where appropriate. The duration of the contract will be 3 years as a fully funded PhD (although the PhD programme can take up to 4 years to complete).
Informal Enquiries:
Informal enquiries about these positions may be made to Derek Chambers and Naoise Kavanagh at ReachOut Ireland ([Email Address Removed], [Email Address Removed]) and David Coyle at University College Dublin ([Email Address Removed]).
Submission Process:
Please send your cv (maximum of 5 pages) along with a covering letter outlining why you think you are suitable for the role and highlighting any relevant strengths or experience (maximum 2 pages). Applications should be sent by email to [Email Address Removed] and include the following text in the subject line “TEAM ESR4 Application”.
Funding Notes
Eligibility Criteria:
- Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree in a relevant field.
- Experience (or a keen interest) in health care technology and a commitment to user engagement is desirable.
- Applicants must provide evidence of equivalent competence in English language by achieving the minimum standard in a recognised English language test, as outlined at the following link http://www.ucd.ie/registry/admissions/elr.html
- Researcher may NOT have resided or worked in Ireland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the submission deadline date.