PhD title: Developing and refining a conceptual model for de-implementing low-value safety practices.

A full scholarship is available in the School of Psychology. This fully funded PhD scholarship is an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in patient safety and implementation science, with an emphasis on the development and application of theory to reducing low-value safety activities/practices in healthcare.

This PhD studentship will likely involve a systematic review and/or meta-analysis of studies within and beyond healthcare that have tried to understand/de-implement policies, rules, safety practices and processes and to collate this information to answer questions about what are the fundamental barriers and enablers (behavioral, team, professional, organizational and potentially societal) that impact attempts at de-implementation. Together with a wider review of the existing theoretical literature on reducing or stopping behavior that exists in other contexts (e.g. behavioral and social science) and related concepts in healthcare, a working conceptual model for de-cluttering safety practices will be developed.

Working with the wider PSRC team, the student will develop and modify the model through application (through data collection and/or data analysis) to at least two test cases of de-implementation in healthcare services (e.g. reducing double-checking of medicines and risk assessments). The studentship might also involve laboratory experiments to test fundamental relationships predicted by the model. Together this empirical work, together with input from an expert panel of key stakeholders will help to refine the model. It is expected that the candidate will develop methodological skills in reviewing evidence, qualitative and/or quantitative skills as well as specialist knowledge in behavioral, safety and implementation science. In addition, they would be supported to develop their network and wider research skills. The student would be expected to shape the full plan for the thesis with support from the supervisory team

The studentship will be based at the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds and the NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration (YH PSRC).

The YH PSRC is a collaboration between Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Universities of Leeds and Bradford. The YH PSRC is hosted within the Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group at the Bradford Institute for Health Research.

As a YH PSRC PhD student you will become an NIHR trainee and will benefit from a range of training support and resources to develop knowledge and health research skills.

Supervisors:

Prof Rebecca Lawton

Dr Chris Keyworth