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Phd Studentship: Developing a modular resource-use questionnaire for use in RCTs

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
United Kingdom
Closing date
Apr 26, 2017

Job Details

Participant self-completed resource-use questionnaires (RUQs) are commonly used in economic evaluations alongside RCTs. Health economists typically develop instruments on an ad hoc basis for each new trial, leading to duplication of effort, lack of standardization, and limited validation (DOI: 10.1111/j.1524-4733.2010.00788.x). Existing generic RUQs tend to be lengthy and rarely used (e.g. APCQ) or much modified versions of RUQs developed for specific disease groups (e.g. CSRI – mental health). The MRC network funded DIRUM database has begun to address these problems by providing a repository of RUQs (DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2012.03.004) and a network workshop identified the need for research on questionnaire design and standardization (DOI: 10.1007/s40258-013-0022-4).

Creating a generic resource-use measure is challenging because analyses may be conducted from various perspectives (e.g. NHS, societal), the level of detail required may also vary depending on trial setting (e.g. secondary care, primary care, community interventions), and there are regional and temporal variations in terminology. A well validated generic instrument with a modular structure would be valuable for trialists through reducing unnecessary work and making trial results more transparent and directly comparable with one another. A preliminary Delphi study has been undertaken with a panel of health economics experts to rank the importance of potential resource-use items identified through a review of the content of existing RUQs.

Aim

To develop a preliminary generic modular resource-use measure that, after further validation, can be used for economic evaluation in a wide range of RCTs of healthcare.

Methods

The student will conduct a systematic review of methods used to develop existing generic RUQs (e.g. CSRI).In collaboration with the MRC health economics working group, the student will define the objectives of the RUQ (e.g. remit, target population, administration modes). In consultation with patients and experts, the student will develop the items identified during the Delphi survey into a core healthcare resource-use module, alongside residential care or social care modules, for example. The student will undertake formulation of specific instructions, questions, and response options. The content validity of the questionnaire will be piloted with experts individually and with focus groups of primary and secondary care patients. The face validity (interpretability, clarity) will be assessed through qualitative techniques (e.g. think-aloud) in patient interviews.Items will be revised as a result of this process and the preliminary questionnaire will be piloted in a small group of diverse patients to assess acceptability (e.g. length). Full empirical validation of the questionnaire (e.g. reliability, criterion and construct validity) will be beyond the scope of this PhD.

The School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol runs a well established series of short courses that are available at no cost to PhD students.The student will have access to all these courses, but the ‘Introduction to Randomised Controlled Trials’, ‘Questionnaire Design, Application and Data Interpretation’, ‘Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis’and ‘Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods’ courses will be particularly relevant.External training in online questionnaire development and other skills will be supplied as required.

Person specification

The student will require a background in health economics, health services research, medical sociology or a similar discipline (an MSc or equivalent experience). The ideal candidate will have a background in health economics with an aptitude to learn qualitative research skills or a background in health services research or medical sociology with an interest in health economics.As there will be substantial interaction with patients and members of the public during the validation phase of the project, the candidate must have good communication skills.

Supervisor: Prof Hollingworth

Company

Global Academy Jobs works with over 250 universities worldwide to promote academic mobility and international research collaboration. Global problems need international solutions. Our jobs board and emails reach the academics and researchers who can help.

"The globalisation of higher education continues apace, driving in turn the ongoing development of the global knowledge economy, striving for solutions to the world’s problems and educating a next generation of leaders and contributors."

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