Development and evaluation of a ‘best housing’ assessment tool for people living with dementia in extra care housing

Applications are invited for a fully-funded, full-time PhD studentship for the project: Development and evaluation of a ‘best housing’ assessment tool for people living with dementia in extra care housing.

This PhD Studentship will seek to understand the reasons and circumstances that lead to people living with dementia moving out of extra care housing and to develop and evaluate an assessment tool to assist in making decisions about what would be in those residents’ best interests in terms of accommodation and care.

Aims and Objectives

The overall aim of the project is to develop and evaluate a best housing assessment tool intended for use by ECH settings to assist in making decisions about what would be in the resident’s best interests in terms of accommodation and care.

The objectives are to:

1. Understand the factors that result in ECH residents living with dementia being relocated to care homes.
2. Determine how ECH providers decide the ‘optimal’ time for a person living with dementia to relocate to a care home, whether they use an assessment tool to determine the best living arrangements for that individual and what tools are in use.
3. Develop a best housing assessment tool to help ECH staff, family and other stakeholders make decisions about what would be in the resident’s best interests in terms of accommodation and care (i.e. what interventions are needed to enable them to remain in place or whether they need to relocate to accommodation that can better meet their needs).
4. Pilot test the assessment tool with different ECH providers, follow up on the outcomes of relocating to a care home as a result of the assessment and amend the tool according to the findings.

Potential academic significance and impact of research

The Association for Dementia Studies is one of the leading centres for research into extra care housing in the UK. Lack of information about housing options has been highlighted in our work as a significant barrier to quality of life for people living with dementia. This research will therefore build on our substantial portfolio of work in this setting and will contribute towards our ongoing expertise and academic reputation.

Currently, no tool exists to assist in determining the optimal time for a person living with dementia to relocate from ECH to a care home and making such a decision is difficult for people with dementia, family carers, and the professionals who support them. The ECCT would welcome the evidence-based development of a ‘best housing’ assessment tool that could be used in ECCT and other housing providers’ ECH settings to help decide what course of action is in a resident’s best interests – interventions to enable them to remain in the ECH setting or relocation to a care home.

Details of the studentship

The studentship is offered for a 4-year period on a full-time basis. The studentship is campus based. During the period of your studentship you will receive the following:

• a tax-free bursary of £17,668 for 3 years
• a fee-waiver for 4 years (expectation that full time students complete in 3 years. If student enters year 4, bursary stops but fees waived)
• a budget to support your direct project costs including dissemination costs
• a laptop and other IT equipment and software as appropriate to the project
• use of the Research School facilities
• collaborating organisation will provide support and guidance for the PHD student within the Extra Care Housing setting, including access to training and understanding of ECH and access to participants across multiple locations.

You will be expected to play an active role in the life of both the Research School and of your academic School. You will be given opportunities to gain experience in learning and teaching within the School under the guidance of your Director of Studies.

Application Process

To begin the application process for this studentship please go to http://www.worcester.ac.uk/researchstudentships and click ‘apply now’ next to the project you wish to apply for.

It is expected that applicants will have the following qualifications:

• Education to Masters Degree level in a relevant area.
• A First or Upper Second Honours Degree

It is also expected that applicants will be able to demonstrate the following:

• A sound understanding of, and interest in Person-Centred Dementia Care Research
• Experience of relevant social research methods and skills
• Ability to contribute to the research design of the project
• Proficiency in oral and written English
• Proficiency in IT relevant to the project, e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.
• Self-motivation, ability to organise and meet deadlines
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Commitment and an enthusiastic approach to completing a higher research degree.

The Interview

The interview will be held in early June 2024 (exact data to be confirmed) via Microsoft Teams. Shortlisted candidates will be given at least 7 day’s-notice of interview. As part of the interview and selection process, shortlisted candidates will be asked to write a short reflective review of a relevant journal article or book chapter. Alongside the interview, shortlisted candidates will also be asked to give a 10 minute presentation on a related topic. 

Supervisory team

Director of Studies:

Dr Julie Barrett, Association for Dementia Studies, School of Allied Health and Community, University of Worcester.

Supervisors:

Internal

Dr Mary O’Malley, Association for Dementia Studies, School of Allied Health and Community, University of Worcester.

External

Dr Rebecca Oatley, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University.

Research Group: Association for Dementia Studies

Collaborating organisations: ExtraCare Charitable Trust (co-funder)

For further information or an informal discussion on this project, please contact Dr Julie Barrett (Director of Studies) via email at j.barrett@worc.ac.uk