PhD fellowship in Access to acute stroke care for all: the inclusion of ethnic minorities

We are offering a PhD fellowship in the project ACcess To acUte stroke care for All (ACTUAL) commencing October 15, 2019 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research

Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Research was established in 2010. The Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health (MESU) both initiates and conducts its own research and contributes to the development of others' research in the field through professional guidance and advice. In addition, the centre contributes to establishing professional networks for Danish and international researchers through regular research seminars and academic meetings, exchange of information on research initiatives and information about on-going activities in Denmark. Research activities focus overall on: 1) Migrants' and ethnic minorities' health and disease patterns, and 2) The structure, function and efficacy of health services in relation to migrants and ethnic minorities.

Project description

The project ACcess To acUte stroke care for All (ACTUAL): the inclusion of ethnic minorities is about optimizing stroke care for all individuals in Denmark by increasing awareness, reducing time to diagnosis and improving access to acute revascularization treatment among ethnic minorities. We will provide new knowledge about the incidence of stroke and outcomes hereof as well as access to acute care and rehabilitation amongst patients with ethnic minority background and Danish-born patients, and use this information to develop and evaluate a community-based awareness intervention for ethnic minorities.

Stroke affected 11.375 individuals in Denmark in 2016 out of which about 85% were ischemic strokes. It is considered the third most common cause of death as well as the third most common cause of dementia and the most common cause of invalidity in adults. One year after a first stroke, 20% of all patients are dead and 30% are dependent on help from others for daily activities. Stroke therefore implies high individual, family and societal consequences. Revascularization treatment (thrombolysis or thrombectomy) is the only treatment for acute ischemic stroke. The treatment is time-critical with earlier treatment associated with greater proportional benefits irrespective of age or stroke severity. Minimizing time from symptom onset to symptom recognition and revascularization is therefore vital and implies addressing both patient and system delay. Patient delay encompasses lack of symptom awareness and appropriate responses.

Reflecting the literature we hypothesize a low stroke awareness among ethnic minorities and a higher incidence of stroke and worse mortality outcomes as well as more impaired access to revascularization treatment and subacute care and rehabilitation compared to Danish-born. Our overall research aims are to inestigate access to acute stroke care and rehabilitation maong ethnic minorities compared to Dnaish-born. The study will use national registry data. Data will be processed via remote online access to Statistics Denmark. The project is in collaboration with Department of Neurology Århus University and Herlev Hospital and Section of Health Services Research, Ålborg Univeristy. The project is financed by TRYGFonden

Principal supervisor is Professor, phd, DMSc Marie Norredam, Danish Reserch Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Start: October 15, 2019

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description

Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
• Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research team
• Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teach and disseminate your knowledge
• Write a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project e.g. medical doctor, public health professional.

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Previous publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in migration and health, inequities in health, access to health cares and health care services research.
• Language skills
• Experience with quantitative analysis and registerdata is preferable and SAS experience is an advantage.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health, Section of Health Services Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

Terms of employment

The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years.

It is conditioned upon the applicant’s successful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant in consultation with the supervisor.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree. Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agree¬ment between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 27,135 DKK /approx. 3.636 EUR (April 2019-level) plus pension.

Questions

For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure

Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Master of Science diploma and transcript of records. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor will do

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: August 15th 2019 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 36

The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences comprises approximately 7500 students, 1500 PhD students and 3200 employees. The Faculty advances the field of health sciences through its core activities: research, teaching, knowledge sharing and communication. With basic research fields ranging from molecular studies to studies of society, the Faculty contributes to a healthy future through its graduates, research findings and inventions benefitting patients and the community. The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

Kilde: Jobnet.dk