Postgraduate Research Degrees – HRB PhD Scholars Programme in Health Services Research

Themes/models/focus

Scholars will be exposed to theory as well as applied health information. The Programme will use the US Institute of Medicine’s (2001) quality healthcare standards (safe, effective, efficient, acceptable, timely and equitable) as a framework for service evaluation. It will provide a very broad robust educational curriculum in HSR, drawing on the discipline-specific strengths of the Steering Group, the wider institutional pool of PIs and national and international colleagues/institutions who have committed to taking part in our Placement Programme. Our approach will include both the conduct of new studies and interrogation of existing service databases. 
The Programme will produce reflective scientists – thoroughly educated in and committed to the multidisciplinarity of health services research and with high-level research expertise in one HSR-related discipline. Placements will be an important focus of the training of graduates ‘fit for purpose’. It is envisaged that scholars will spend 10 weeks in Semester 2 of Year 1 in an applied health-related setting, usually in Ireland. The choice of setting will reflect the individual scholar’s background and interest and will collectively give the group of scholars exposure to a variety of important health-related evidence settings in Ireland. In Year 2, scholars will be funded to attend an international institution that will provide specialist exposure to their chosen PhD topic, methodology or theoretical approach. A prestigious group with international expertise in HSR, R&D in the health services and academic postgraduate capacity development have agreed to form an Advisory Group to meet with the Steering Group annually to advise on the Programme.