Research Fellow - Centre for Innovation & Leadership in Health Sciences

Location: Highfield Campus

Salary:  £29,799 to £36,613 - per annum

Full Time, Fixed Term

Closing Date:  Sunday 15 October 2017

Reference: 916117BN

NIHR CLAHRC Wessex Research Fellow ERE 4 (Osteoarthritis and Self-Management of care)

Contract available until Dec 2018 (with the possibility of extension to 2019, a contract for extended funding is currently under negotiation)

You will join an experienced, supportive, team of multi-disciplinary academics, social care and clinical colleagues based at the University of Southampton.  Southampton is one of the best places in the UK for applied health services research and education.   The University is also part of an Arthritis Research UK National Centre of Excellence for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis which supports and develops world-leading research in osteoarthritis.

The research project is an innovative approach to combining digital platforms to facilitate a community networked approach to self-management that is accessible for people with adequate and lower levels of health literacy.  The research will be carried out with community partners (such as Radian Housing, City Libraries and Charities) across Wessex.  The project forms part of NIHR CLAHRC* Wessex programmes of work focusing on self-management and healthy ageing.   (*Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care)

You will work with our research team to design, develop and evaluate an on line self-management digital resource for older people living with joint pain.  The Contain Joint Pain study aims to design and develop an online digital platform using a LifeGuide approach that links both personalised self-management strategies alongside GENIE a community network activation tool. 

The project will purposively sample and include people with lower health literacy levels and the tool will be designed to be accessible for people with lower literacy levels.  The study is a mixed methods study using qualitative Think aloud methods with service users to develop and refine the digital tool as well as quantitative data collection using standardised patient report outcomes for the tool’s evaluation. 

This project is funded by CLAHRC Wessex and you will therefore be expected to work closely with the organisation and its stakeholders as part of this collaboration.

Experience in carrying out qualitative interviews with patients is essential, as is experience in analysing qualitative data.  You will need to be able to collect and input quantitative data for statistical analysis. Ideally, you will have authored academic papers in reputable journals.

Building on regional, national and international strengths in applied research the NIHR Wessex CLAHRC aims to improve the health of people in Wessex and the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. With a focus on local NHS priorities of care quality and reducing hospital admissions/re-admissions activities will centre on six research and implementation themes.

For additional information and informal enquiries before submitting your application, contact Prof Jo Adams - ja@soton.ac.uk.  Please include a covering letter and full CV in your application.

Application procedure:

You should submit your completed online application form at www.jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. If you need any assistance, please call Sarah Foster (Recruitment Team) on +44 (0) 23 8059 6803. Please quote reference 916117BN on all correspondence.