Health-related quality of life, economic burden, and health inequities in people living alone with dementia

external supervisors

Professor Gail Hayward, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences

Professor Martin Knapp, the London School of Economics and Political Science

BACKGROUND

The application deadline for this project is Monday 15 April 2024. Eligible candidates for this project will be considered for an NIHR Doctoral Studentship.

In 2019 there were 120,000 people living alone with dementia (PLAWD), a figure projected to double by 2039. Among those living with dementia, ethnicity is a social determinant of health representing higher risks to die younger and sooner after diagnosis. This project aims to characterise the health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), the economic burden and health inequalities in PLAWD to develop future interventions for this patient group. Filling this evidence gap can guide decision-makers to prioritise health policies destined to reduce health inequities and develop cost-effective prevention, diagnosis, and care strategies that are tailored to the heterogeneous profiles within dementia. 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, RESEARCH METHODS AND TRAINING

The student will be based in the Nuffield Department of Population Health within a broad research group of health economist with wide expertise in costing studies, economic evaluations, modelling, statistics/econometrics, choice modelling, public health, and epidemiology, particularly in dementia. This will provide the student with opportunities to further develop research skills and invest in career progression in this field. Furthermore, the student will be offered the opportunity to join Oxford Mental Health Economics and Policy group to ensure his proposed research and methods remain at the cutting edge of the field.

The student will also have access to several highly-regarded international courses in health economics, qualitative data analysis, and advanced biostatistics besides having a wide range of large datasets available upon request within the department such as the UK Biobank and the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. 

FIELD WORK, SECONDMENTS, INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS AND TRAINING

Training will be offered on relevant analytical methods and to facilitate collecting and analysing cost and outcomes data.

PROSPECTIVE  STUDENT

This project would be suitable for a candidate with a strong interest in dementia, mental health and inequities in access to care. It would be desirable to have a Masters’ degree related to mental health and/or ageing with research experience on dementia. Ideally, the candidate should have both quantitative and qualitative research skills.