St Helena Hospice and Integrated Care Academy (ICA)

PhD Studentship

Impact of a Population Health Management Approach to End-of-Life Care

Background

As people move toward end-of-life, it is important that they receive appropriate, timely and

integrated care that delivers their preferences around e.g., the type and extent of communication,

treatment plans, pain relief and preferred place of death. To ensure that these wishes and needs of

patients, carers and the wider family can be met, a Population Health Management (PHM) approach

is being applied across North East Essex. This allows existing health and care inequalities to be

highlighted and addressed, as well as map those system, service and practice improvements

necessary to deliver asset-based, patient-centred outcomes in the last years of life.

This exciting and innovative PhD studentship is aligned to the work of St Helena Hospice

(Colchester), the North East Essex End of Life Board and hosted by the Integrated Care Academy at

the University of Suffolk.

Aim of the PhD

The PhD will assess if an end-of-life population health management approach has an impact on

people’s care outcomes and perceived experiences. It is likely you will apply a mixed method

approach (systematic literature review as well as quantitative and qualitative methods) to explore:

•How population health management in end-of-life care is nationally and locally organised

•Why patients, unpaid carers as well as the wider family may choose to engage/ not engage with

planning end-of-life support

•How policy and strategic staff, commissioners, clinicians and professionals use data to plan for

and inform end-of-life care and treatment.

•If a population health management approach to end-of-life care results in better outcomes for

patients and their families.

Support from St Helena Hospice and the Integrated Care Academy

Working alongside staff in North East Essex, the University of Suffolk (UoS) will provide a

comprehensive programme of supervision, mentoring and training in research methods, ethics and

research conduct. This includes online training sessions, interactive discussions and workshops

throughout the year. Networking opportunities with other PhD and post-doctoral students will be

available, as well as links with external experts from policy and practice.

The supervision team

The supervisors will be Dr Karen Windle (Integrated Care Academy), Dr Karen Chumbley (Clinical

Lead for End of Life care for the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance), and Professor

Helen Langton (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Suffolk).

Available financial support

Your PhD fees and a yearly stipend at current UKRI rates will be funded by St Helena Hospice. There

are also additional monies to support e.g., equipment, conference attendance, transcription,

publications and travel. The studentship is open to UK candidates only, owing to funding

restrictions.

Applying for the PhD

You can find out more about this PhD on the University of Suffolk website (link below). Alternatively,

please do contact Dr Karen Windle (link below)

https://www.uos.ac.uk/jobs/p