The University of Sheffield
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR)
Investigation of associations between green space, health and mortality in population cohorts
Primary Supervisor: Dr Ravi Maheswaran
We invite applications to this White Rose Studentship Network, which uniquely brings together five university partners (Sheffield, Leeds, York, Sheffield Hallam and Bradford), with the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR), in a network of five doctoral studentships with cross-university co-supervision. The studentship is one of five within aWhite Rose Studentship Networkawarded as part of theCLAHRC Yorkshire and Humber.
The network builds on two major established cohorts in relatively deprived Yorkshire populations: the Born in Bradford family cohort study (BiB), which is linked to the Healthy Children, Healthy Families Theme in the CLAHRC for Yorkshire & Humber (2014-18), and the South Yorkshire Cohort (SYC) which is linked to several themes, including Public Health & Inequalities.
Traditionally, population-based cohort studies largely undertake the analysis of incident outcomes (and changes in outcomes) measured in follow-up waves of data collection, in relation to potential explanatory variables collected at baseline. The studentships within this network will use innovative record linkage of cohort participants to a wide range of routine data sources to quantitatively analyse a wider range of social and contextual explanatory factors and relevant outcomes, and in-depth qualitative and narrative techniques will be used to explore these further.
Each student will be registered in a home department, and follow a programme in accordance with each university’s requirements, but will also join in network-wide meetings, events and opportunities.
What does the studentship cover?
Each studentship is tenable for three years from Session 2014/15 (starting around October 2014) and will provide Home/EU tuition fees, a maintenance grant paid at standard Research Council rates for the first year of study (renewable subject to satisfactory academic progress). Applicants for all studentships must have a UK Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent. The stipend and fees will be provided by the host university.
Project information:
Investigation of associations between green space, health and mortality in population cohorts
This project will investigate associations between green space, health and mortality using the South Yorkshire Cohort and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Study. There is an increasing number of studies investigating the association between green space and health but few have examined long term outcomes. Whilst some studies have attracted widespread media coverage and are widely quoted in support of the link between green space and health, there are several limitations to the existing database. Very few cohort studies have investigated links between green space and mortality. The objectives of the studentship are: to establish measures of exposure to green space that can be calculated using existing and routine data sources; link green space measures to the South Yorkshire Cohort in order to investigate associations with body mass index, physical activity and chronic disease prevalence; and link green space exposure measures to the ONS Longitudinal Study to examine associations with subsequent mortality by cause.
Principal Supervisor: Dr Ravi Maheswaran, University of Sheffield
Co-supervisor: Dr Lorna Fraser, University of York
Entry Requirements:
The studentship requires a candidate with a quantitative background who has an interest in developing skills in data linkage and statistical analysis based on epidemiological methods.
Enquiries:
Interested candidates should in the first instance contact Dr Ravi Maheswaran,
How to apply:
Please complete a University Postgraduate Research Application form and attach at least two references to your application. To complete the application form please visit: www.shef.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/apply.
Please clearly state the prospective main supervisor in the respective box and select ‘School of Health and Related Research’ as the department.
Closing date: 28 March 2014