PhD Studentship : Health Economic Evaluation of Community Acquired Pneumonia in the UK

Respiratory Theme

PhD Opportunity- UK Students only – not eligible for International students 

Project Description:

Pneumonia is a common illness that results in over 100,000 hospital admissions per year in the UK. Following hospital treatment for pneumonia, 55% of patients visit their GP within 30 days of discharge from hospital while 15% are readmitted to hospital within 30 days of discharge. Despite the high morbidity experienced and described by patients, there are few interventions that are currently in place to support recovery. To determine how to best intervene in a cost-effective manner, up to date cost estimates and quality of life measures for patients who have pneumonia treated both in the community and in hospital are required. 

The first stage of the project will be a study of the economic burden of community acquired pneumonia within the UK. The student will analyse large datasets such as the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and Hospital Episode Statistics to identify activity related to the treatment of community acquired pneumonia. This will require identifying relevant treatments and their associated Health Resource Group (HRG) codes to link hospital care provided with NHS Reference Costs, as well as linking any primary care activity with Unit Costs of Health and Social Care, and British National Formulae (BNF). Costs in primary and secondary care will be combined to estimate total healthcare cost and total healthcare burden to the NHS, and sub-group analyses by age, ethnicity, and index of multiple deprivation will be performed. The second stage of the study will involve prospectively collected EQ-5D-5L data from a cohort of patients to determine the impact of community acquired pneumonia that requires hospitalisation  on the quality of life of patients. Data will be collected at baseline, three months, six months, and 12 months from diagnosis. Questionnaires will be collected as part of routine care through research active nurses, with data passed to the student The student will need to clean and prepare the datasets, and score the EQ-5D-5L using UK specific value sets. Missing data will be controlled for using multiple imputation, with sub-group analyses by age, ethnicity, and index of multiple deprivation.

Who is this PhD suitable for? 

This PhD is suitable for a hard-working researcher with an interest in respiratory infections and health economics. Essential skills: A Master in Epidemiology or Public Health with experience in medical statistical analyses, an understanding of Health Economics, knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of scientific research, excellent computer literacy, good inter-personal communications skills. Desirable skills: A Master in Health Economics with experience in cost effective analyses. Expertise will be gained in how to use large datasets (‘big data’) and the collection of data to be used in economic evaluations.

Funding notes

The three year studentship covers UK home tuition fees only and a tax-free stipend. Applications are only open to students who qualify for UK home tuition fees.   

Supervisors:

Prof Tricia McKeever (Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham)

Dr Wei Shen Lim (Honorary Professor in Respiratory Medicine, University of Nottingham, Consultant Respiratory Physician, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust)

Dr Matthew Jones (Assistant Professor of Health Economics, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham)

Informal inquiries can be made to tricia.mckeever@nottingham.ac.uk

To apply send through a cover letter and CV to: tricia.mckeever@nottingham.ac.uk

Application deadline:1 July 2024

Start date: 1^st October 2024

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