EQUIP-IN PhD Studentship Open For Applications
Application closing date: 25th May 2026
Start date: September 2026
Today we’re opening our fully-funded PhD studentship to applications. We’re pleased to be able to offer this opportunity thanks to the NIHR as part of the EQUIP-IN research programme (NIHR208120). It’s ideal for candidates with an interest in social care research.
Project Summary
Title: EQUIP-IN: Understanding the impact of assistive technologies on carers of older adults with difficulty bathing
This studentship will focus on the impact of equipment and minor adaptations on carers and supporters (family and friends) of older adults with difficulty bathing. There is little evidence in the literature that combines users and carers quality of life and the EQUIP-IN PhD will address that.
People can be personally involved in providing care and can feel directly or indirectly responsible for the preservation of dignity and respect of their cared-for family member (Bressan et al., 2020). If the cost-effectiveness analysis in the EQUIP-IN study focused on the individual receiving care, neglecting the impact on carers, we could underestimate the benefits of an intervention. Relevant outcome measures for carers, such as ASCOT-Carer (Batchelder et al., 2019), have been developed and can be combined with measures for people receiving care. The PhD student will work, therefore, alongside the programme research team to establish the impact on carers and the best way to combine outcomes for the person receiving care and the carer when assessing aggregate benefits and costs.
We expect that the EQUIP-IN PhD will be a mixed-methods study that will include: a systematic review, prospective cohort study and in-depth interviews.
How to Apply
Full information on this opportunity is available on the University of York website. Here you will find:
- essential and desirable criteria
- eligibility criteria
- application instructions
- funding information
The deadline for applications is 17:00 on 25th May 2026.
References
Batchelder, L., Malley, J., Burge, P. et al. (2019). Carer social care-related quality of life outcomes: estimating English preference weights for the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit for Carers. Value in Health, 22(12), pp. 1427-1440.
Bressan, V., Visintini, C. and Palese, A. (2020). What do family caregivers of people with dementia need? A mixed‐method systematic review. Health & Social Care in the Community, 28(6), pp. 1942-1960.