Postgraduate Research Degrees – HRB PhD Scholars Programme in Health Services Research
Programme Structure
Scholars will be provided with a structured PhD training programme, consisting of 4 training strands with strand 1 completed in Year 1 and strands 2-4 extending over 4 years. The training in strand one will be equivalent to a Masters level programme in health services research. The training in strands 2-4 will address specialist research skills related to the scholar’s research project, professional development and career development skills. A particular feature of the planned training is the determination to ensure that graduates of the programme are part of a network of HSR specialists that will provide mutual support and facilitate collaborations over their careers. Since it is expected that students will follow careers in research, research management, policymaking and health service management, there is particular value in creating a network. Regarding the PhD thesis, scholars will be matched and assigned one primary supervisor and two co-supervisors. Supervisors will represent different disciplines and investigators from participating institutions. The draft doctoral research proposal will be developed by the end of Year 1. At the end of the first year, scholars will be formally assessed for their suitability to continue the programme to PhD level.
The four formal training strands will be:
- One Year Intensive Course in Health Services Research
- Specialist research skills training (related to research project)
- Professional skills including time and project management, grant application skills, scientific paper writing, team-working, communication skills (written and oral, including media and advocacy training) and presentation skills
- Career development skills (CV and interview skills, seminars with experts and leaders in relevant career settings)
While strands 2-4 will extend over the four years of the programme, the focus in year 2 will be on specialist research skills, year 3 on professional skills and year 4 on career development skills. Subject to satisfactory progress, the scholars will be offered an opportunity to experience a professional role in year 4 of the programme, such as serving on a research ethics committee or membership of a relevant health service advisory group.
Overview of Year 1 Intensive Course in Health Services Research
On completion of the intensive course in HSR the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate contextual understanding of factors affecting population health and health service organisation and delivery in Ireland and abroad
- Describe, discuss, compare and appraise the different research methods and traditions relevant to HSR
- Write a HSR protocol to a level that would be deemed fundable in a standard peer review process
- Demonstrate higher-level skills in one or more disciplines relevant to the specific area of interest of the student.
The programme is predicated on the belief is that it is necessary to have a broad understanding of HSR disciplines even though the student’s research topic may require focus on one or two specific disciplines.
The Year 1 programme will include classroom, online and self-directed learning, workshops and seminars and a placement in a research organisation to provide understanding of how research is carried out, how data are collected and accessed, and how research is disseminated and put into policy and practice. The workshop sessions will aim to develop team-working skills, and where possible self-discovery approaches to learning will be used. A significant element of self-directed e-learning will be included and the programme will avail of RCSI’s well-established e-learning infrastructure. There will be a significant focus on group learning to encourage the development of a feeling of belonging to a new team and network. While there will be some use of teleconferencing to reduce unnecessary travel, students will also travel to each participating institution so as to expose them to the current HSR work in each of the partner organisations. By end of Year 1, students will also have a draft PhD proposal (including literature review, methods and feasibility issues addressed).
The First year programme will run annually from October to September. It is expected that students will meet weekly during the first semester over 2 days with overnight stays reimbursed for those travelling. Students will be on placement for 10 weeks in the second semester.
Core Modules
Proposed modules are listed below covering contextual knowledge (particularly on health systems and population health), information systems and sources, generic research skills such as reviewing evidence, introductory material covering the main HSR disciplines and courses in discipline based research skills.
In addition to the specific planned modules as set out below, it should be noted that the partner institutions already offer a range of generic and discipline based courses that are relevant to HSR. Specifically, the programme will benefit from existing partner institution courses such as RCSI’s online generic postgraduate course in Research Methods and Information Analysis, UCC’s BSc in Public Health & Health Promotion and TCD’s Masters courses in Global Health and Health Services Management.
A. Health service context
Module 1: Population and Individual Health
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to describe and discuss the major determinants of health and disease in the population and assess the role of health services in population health. Students will be able to describe the burden of disease at national and global level, discuss and distinguish between biological, behavioural and environmental factors in the aetiology of the major diseases and appraise the role of health promotion.
Module 2: Health Systems, Policies and Health Informatics
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to describe and discuss the structure and operation of the Irish health care system, putting it into the context of other European systems and health care provision worldwide. Students will be able to discuss and compare the performance of health systems in different countries and will be able to discuss and appraise the main policy debates on funding and provision of care. Students will be able to describe, discuss and appraise the performance and options for health information systems nationally and internationally.
B. Generic research methods and information analysis
Module 3: Evidence synthesis and clinical trials
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to describe the major sources of research evidence (including the grey literature), conduct effective and efficient searches of the literature to the level required for a Cochrane Review and critically appraise, summarise and synthesise the literature on a specific topic. They will also be able to define a health service problem, identify a related research question or questions, discuss and select from appropriate study designs and methods, write a detailed research protocol addressing key planning issues including sampling issues, data access, data collection, data management and research ethics. They will also be able to describe, and critically appraise theories and methods of measurement and outcomes assessment in health services.
Module 4: Applying research methods
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to describe, discuss, and compare the range of research methods relevant to HSR, and explain the complementary role of different research methods in HSR. Students will be able to provide examples of the different research methods relevant to health services research and demonstrate specific core skills in both quantitative and qualitative research.
Module 5: Hand on Data Analysis with STATA
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to access and use routine health and health service data applying basic epidemiological and statistical methods. This module will provide additional exposure to epidemiological concepts and methods, building on the population health module.
C. Specialist health service research focus
Module 6: Health economics and econometrics
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to describe and discuss the uses of economics and econometrics in the analysis and evaluation of health care. This module will provide a basis for more advanced study for those likely to use economics in their research study.
Personal and professional development over the four years
The scholars’ personal and professional development is primarily addressed in strands 2-4 of the formal training programme, which will extend over the four years of the students’ training. The group will meet on a regular basis for workshops, seminars and discussions. Some of the sessions will include outside speakers (with specialist expertise in areas such as scientific writing, project management, presentation and teaching skills and career options). However in this strand as in the programme as a whole there will be a major focus on self-directed learning and team working. Students will be expected to manage teaching sessions with facilitation from programme staff.
Supervised Placements
The philosophy of the programme is that students should carry out research projects on real health service issues where research may make an impact. They will therefore be encouraged to learn more about existing activity and research resources in HSR and the possibility of developing their thesis in collaboration with existing data sources and studies. During the first year the student will be placed for 10 weeks in a research setting and will assist with collection, management and analysis of data or other relevant research activities. In year 2, scholars will be placed internationally for a short focused period in an organisation which fits with their PhD topic for an agreed menu of training. A list of centres that are available to provide such placements is below. It is envisaged that the range of possible placements will expand over time and in response to specific projects. It is envisaged that in some cases the Year 1 placement will be devoted to developing more detailed plans to base the thesis research topic on existing research activity or data collection.
Irish placements (Sample placement locations)
- National Suicide Research Foundation, Cork, Ireland
- Population Health National Directorate – Health Intelligence, Health Services Executive, Ireland
- National Hospitals Office, Health Services Executive, Ireland
- Epilepsy Services, Beaumont Hospital Dublin, Ireland
- Health Research Board - Health Information and In-House Research Directorate, Ireland
- National Cancer Registry, Cork, Ireland
- Health Policy and Information Unit, Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland
- Institute for Public Health in Ireland, Dublin & Belfast, Ireland
- TILDA (the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing), Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
International placements (Sample placement locations)
- Liverpool University, UK (Public Health)
- University of Bristol, UK (Community Based Medicine, Primary Health Care)
- University College London, UK (CHIME, Psychobiology, Epidemiology)
- King’s College London, UK (Psychology/Institute of Psychiatry)
- Dundee University, Scotland (Community Health, Dental HSR Unit)
- Oxford University, UK (Primary Health Care)
- University of Manchester, UK (National Centre for Primary Care Research)
- University of Aberdeen, Scotland (Health Psychology, College of Life Sciences)
- World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland
- European Observatory of Health System & Policies, Brussels, Belgium
- University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (Clinical Informatics)
- University of Bern, Germany (Social & Preventive Medicine)