Research Fellow at University of Southampton

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Research Fellow to work on an ARC Wessex supported and Great Foundations grant funded study “OFFLOAD Project: Development of a decision aid for offloading decision selection for people with diabetic foot ulceration” within our Long-Term Conditions research theme.

In this project we will co-develop a decision aid (DA), alongside service users, clinicians, and other industry stakeholders to support off-loading device selection for people living with diabetic foot ulceration. DA development will be undertaken in accordance with the International Patient Decision Aid Standards and will likely contain information about a) the decision to be made, b) option risks and benefits, c) related values, and d) decision next steps. We will also undertake workforce readiness analysis, evaluated through a) scoping literature review, b) national workforce survey, and c) stakeholder focus group about workforce capability development training needs, and implementation recommendations. It is expected that this programme of work will lead to full trial with a view to future implementation into healthcare services at scale.

Candidates should have a PhD or be very near to completion, in a Social Science or Health related discipline or have equivalent professional experience, e.g., senior clinicians with experience of improvement methods within health and care settings. Candidates should demonstrate wide experience in research/improvement projects and completion of activities. The successful candidate will have knowledge and experience of relevant long-term conditions, quantitative and qualitative improvement methods and ideally have experience of successful research recruitment, conduct and implementation. They will need to demonstrate an ability to organise their own workload, plan research activities to a high standard and to deadlines and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Knowledge and understanding of personalised assessment and implementation of initiatives in clinical practice would be an advantage.

ARC Wessex is an organisation funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) with a remit to support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. ARC Wessex is one of 15 ARCs across England, part of a £135 million investment by the NIHR to improve the health and care of patients and the public within and beyond the Wessex region.

ARC Wessex conducts applied health research with the aims to improve outcomes for patients and public; improve quality, delivery and efficiency of health and care services; increase the sustainability of health and care systems locally and nationally, through collaborative partnership. It has four thematic programmes of work: Ageing and Dementia, Healthy Communities, Long Term Conditions and Workforce & Health systems. We have a close relationship with our stakeholders within the region, which include a wide range of NHS organisations, local universities, charities, local authorities and others.

The post is available on a 0.4 WTE basis, for a term of 24 months, and will be based at the School of Health Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton. The employing organisation is the University of Southampton which offers a competitive salary, pension scheme and other benefits. 

The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of a PhD, prior to the qualification being awarded, the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given. Secondment from clinical roles may be considered.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Dr Lindsey Cherry (l.cherry@soton.ac.uk).