Midwifery and Public Health: Fully Funded PhD in Developing Digital Innovations for Autism-Informed Maternity Care

Autistic people face challenges in accessing healthcare, especially during pregnancy, due to sensorily aggressive clinical environments, and systemic barriers in healthcare, which can make continuity of care and tailored support difficult to provide. Also, maternity professionals often lack training in neurodiversity-affirming and autism-informed approaches, leading to unmet needs and poorer outcomes for staff and service users.  

This project aims to investigate how digital training tools can be used to improve the confidence and competence of maternity health professionals in providing autism-informed maternity care. The focus will be on co-producing the training approach with autistic researchers, service users and maternity staff. This includes creating and evaluating accessible digital resources and exploring the potential of VR scenarios to improve knowledge, confidence, empathy, and skills, with a particular emphasis on fostering inclusive practices. The outcomes will provide critical insights and methodologies for embedding autism-informed practices into maternity services, enhancing care quality and support for staff.  

Funding Details

Funding Comment

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

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