Diversifying Dementia Care: Exploring Voluntary Sector Support for People from Minority Ethnic Groups Who Are Living With Dementia.

The School of Social Policy is pleased to offer funding for a motivated and talented qualitative or mixed methods researcher interested in undertaking doctoral research about people from minority ethnic groups who are living with dementia, with a particular focus on the role of the voluntary sector. The PhD will be located in Birmingham, a city considered ‘superdiverse’, as more than half its population come from minority ethnic groups.

The studentship is fully funded through the NIHR Three Schools Dementia Research Programme that aims to develop the evidence base for dementia-related practice in England by commissioning and conducting high-quality research. The student will be supervised by academics from both the School for Social Care Research and the School for Public Health Research at the University of Birmingham. The School for Social Care Research (SSCR) leads adult social care research and training for researchers wanting to find out more about the best ways to improve social care practice and the wellbeing of people needing care and support. The School for Public Health Research (SPHR) seeks to answer questions relating to the health of the public and to improve the health and wellbeing of all people in Birmingham and beyond. The successful applicant will be jointly supervised by academics from the School for Social Care Research (Dr Kelly Hall and Dr Chris Poyner) and the PHRESH [Public Health RESearch for Health) Consortium (Professor Afroditi Stathi) one of the nine SPHR academic centres, with additional advisory supervision from Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer.

The research will seek to explore the care and support provided by voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations (VCFSEs) in Birmingham for people from minority ethnic groups living with dementia. The following research questions will guide the studentship, but with flexibility for the student to develop their own proposal:

To what extent do people from minority ethnic groups have access to culturally specific dementia care and support?
How do VCFSE organisations in Birmingham support people from minority ethnic groups living with dementia?
What are the experiences of people from minority ethnic groups living with dementia who use VCFSE organisations in Birmingham?
The Studentship will provide an annual stipend of £20,000, home PhD fees and research costs (e.g. to undertake fieldwork and attend conferences) for three years from 30 September 2024.

For informal enquiries, please contact Kelly Hall k.j.hall@bham.ac.uk.

Applications must be made through the University of Birmingham Postgraduate Application portal. Please select PhD Social Policy; Sociology and Criminology (FT) 2024/25. Once you have applied, please also email Ann Evans (a.p.evans@bham.ac.uk) with your details and application number.

Funding notes:
The studentship is offered as a 3-year award (commencing 30th September 2024) on a full-time basis. Applicants are expected to have a strong first degree (2:1) in a relevant social science discipline, including demonstrable experience using qualitative methods, and a Masters degree in a social sciences discipline with social sciences research methods training (or equivalent professional training).

The studentship covers:

Full tuition fees at the Home rate (£4,778 per annum); international students will need to fund the remainder of the fees and any visa requirements from other sources.
An annual maintenance grant for 3 years of £20,000 per year
A Research and Training Support Grant worth a total of £7950.

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