Apologies for cross-posting
Four-year PhD Studentship in Health Services Research (RE-ADVERTISED)
NEW START DATE - January 2005
Closing date for applications: 8TH NOVEMBER 2004
A studentship is available at the MRC Health Services Research
Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, Bristol University.
Project title: 'Using stated preference discrete choice modelling to
determine utilities for informal care'
You should have:
· A degree in Economics
· An MSc in Health Economics or closely related subject (preferable, but
not essential)
· An interest in, or experience of, the health sector
· Good quantitative skills along with a willingness to use unfamiliar
methods (e.g. qualitative approaches)
The PhD project
Despite having been identified as a problematic methodological area for
economic evaluation as far back as the early 1990s, measurement of the
impact of informal care remains largely neglected in the economic
evaluation of healthcare interventions. One particular methodological
problem with informal care is that it can confer both costs and benefits on
the informal carer, and these can be difficult to both identify and measure
accurately. This PhD will use stated preference discrete choice modelling
(SPDCM), specifically the method of best-worst scaling, to overcome this
difficulty by enabling calculation of utilities for the different
individual characteristics of informal care. There are, however, a number
of methodological issues associated with SPDCM in general, and best-worst
scaling in particular, which this research will need to tackle so that it
can achieve its aim of determining utilities for the characteristics of
informal care. The research will focus particularly on methodological
issues associated with SPDCM at the stage of attribute development, (using
an innovative method - meta-ethnography - as the basis for developing
attributes) and at the stage of sampling and collecting data. At this
latter stage, work will be conducted looking at the possibility of using
computer administration to maximise response rates, and issues associated
with sample size will also be dealt with. Other methodological issues
associated with SPDCM are being examined in an associated MRC programme and
the appointed doctoral candidate will be able to benefit from the work
being conducted alongside.
Funding is for four years and offers excellent opportunities for integrated
health services research and generic skills training.
For further details / application form, please contact the HSRC office 0117
928 7262 / 0117 928 7269 or email: [log in to unmask] /
[log in to unmask] quoting ref: COA/04.
Eligibility criteria for funding are available at:
http://www.hsrc.ac.uk/training/pdf-studentship_handbook-sep03.pdf
For an informal discussion, please contact Jo Coast, [log in to unmask] or
Terry Flynn [log in to unmask]
You can also visit our website: www.hsrc.ac.uk
CLOSING DATE: 8th NOVEMBER 2004
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Dr Terry Flynn
MRC Health Services Research Collaboration
Dept of Social Medicine, University of Bristol
Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road
Bristol BS8 2PR, UK
Tel: 0117 928 7375 (direct)
Fax: 0117 331 3914
http://www.hsrc.ac.uk/Contact/ext_staff_files/Terry_webpage.htm
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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