ARC West’s funding ended on 31 March 2026. This site is an archive and is no longer updated.
11 February 2022
We have four new PhD opportunities at NIHR ARC West. If you have any questions about the projects, please contact the primary supervisor. The deadline for all applications is Friday 25 February 2022.
Contact: Dr Sabi Redwood
Care outcomes for children and young people (CYP) living with diabetes in England and Wales continue to improve. This is partially a result of the utilisation of novel technologies that provide continuous glucose monitoring, closed-loop insulin pump systems to autonomously modify insulin administration and digital interventions delivering health education.
However, recent data show that nearly 40 per cent of White CYP are using an insulin pump compared to only 28 per cent of Black CYP. Furthermore, in the least deprived areas, 44.3 per cent of CYP use an insulin pump, compared to 31.7 per cent in the most deprived areas. This disparity in pump usage is widening with time and is particularly pronounced in Bristol. This studentship will therefore seek to generate new evidence to support equality of access to and engagement with technology among CYP living with diabetes.
Implementing value-based healthcare methods in the Healthier Together ICS
Contact: Dr Hugh McLeod
The Healthier Together Integrated Care System (ICS) has a pioneering commitment to developing value-based commissioning and service delivery. It ensures that healthcare is both efficient and properly allocated.
This PhD will develop practical methods in the form of a tool kit to put into place value-based health and care by evaluating the Ageing Well Programme. Through this it will inform value assessment and decision-making by the integrated care system. It will address key implementation challenges with the close guidance of a collaboration between the ARC West health economics and Healthier Together research and effectiveness teams.
Evaluating the impact of magnesium sulfate foetal neuroprotection on cerebral palsy rates in England
Contact: Professor Frank de Vocht
Around 10 per cent of very preterm births in developed countries result in cerebral palsy. Data from other countries indicated that antenatal magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) may reduce cerebral palsy risk by around 30 per cent when given to women at risk of preterm birth.
The national Prevention of Cerebral Palsy in Preterm labour (PReCePT) programme was rolled out in 2018 to increase MgSO4 use to 85 per cent by 2020. Recent work has indicated that this programme was effective and cost-effective.
However, with the implicit assumptions that:
Addressing these gaps in knowledge is important for optimising maternity care and will reduce burden on affected individuals and families, as well as healthcare services. This PhD aims to investigate both assumptions, and in addition will assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the PReCePT programme and rates of cerebral palsy.
Contact: Dr Maria Theresa Redaniel
Paediatric abusive head trauma (AHT) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is when a child’s head is injured from being hit or shaken. They are uncommon but potentially catastrophic, leading to brain, visual and hearing problems, and in some cases resulting in death.
Identifying predictors of AHT and TBI can help local authorities and other agencies recognise children who are at high risk so that they and their families can be offered support. Understanding those at risk of AHT and TBI can also guide secondary prevention in that social care and health practitioners can more intensively monitor children in at risk groups and may help identify events promptly where primary prevention did not occur.
The proposed project will use the method of systematic review to determine the predictors of AHT and TBI in children under 10 years of age.