TRANS-SENIOR is a large European research project, that is designed to train healthcare innovators who will shape future care for senior citizens (https://www.trans-senior.eu/). TRANS-SENIOR focusses on a major challenge facing European long-term care systems: the need to improve care for care-dependent senior citizens by avoiding unnecessary transitions and optimising care transitions that are actually needed. TRANS-SENIOR will recruit 13 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs, also referred to as PhD students) who will work towards a joint or double degree at two universities within the TRANS-SENIOR network. Each ESR will undergo secondments at academic and/or non-academic partner organisations within the network. ESR 7 and ESR 13 will be hosted by Maastricht University; see www.trans-senior.eu/vacancies for all other projects.

ESR 7: A collaborative intervention model for integration of home care and nursing home care.
Transitions to nursing homes can be a stressful process for older individuals as well as for their families and informal caregivers. Many see the transition to a nursing home as a negative experience, which is linked to many consequences such as loss of independency and being lonely. ESR 7 will develop an intervention that facilitates the transition from home to nursing home, in cooperation with senior citizens and their informal caregivers.
Expected results:
• An intervention model that integrates home care and nursing home care;
• Evidence on the process and outcomes of the collaborative intervention model.

ESR13: Improving implementation of innovations in long-term care
Interventions supporting senior citizens, informal caregivers, and care professionals in transitional care are largely lacking in current practice, and there is no consensus or evidence to provide clear guidance on optimal transitional care approaches. ESR13 will generate an overview of factors influencing implementation of transitional care innovations (barriers and facilitators), to then arrive at an in-depth overview of real-life implementation factors with transitional care interventions as evaluated in TRANS-SENIOR.
Expected results:
• A literature-based overview of factors influencing implementation of transitional care innovations;
• In-depth overview of real-life implementation factors with transitional care interventions as evaluated in TRANS-SENIOR;
• A toolbox of strategies for the dissemination and implementation of transitional care interventions.

Candidates from any nationality – including non-EU countries- are welcome to apply. The following criteria apply to both ESR 7 and 13:

• We expect applicants to be highly motivated for working towards a PhD and for the overall TRANS-SENIOR purposes;
• Master’s degree in Health Care sciences, Nursing Science, Psychology, Medicine or related area.
• Applicants should not have been awarded a PhD degree;
• At the time of recruitment, applicants should have less than four (full time equivalent) years of experience within a research career;
• Applicants should not have resided or carried out his/her main activity in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the three years immediately prior to the recruitment;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English (B2 level or equivalent);
• Willingness to learn the local language of the host institution;
• Good communication and human relationship skills, demonstrable capacity in organizing and managing projects and working in a team.
• Excellent scientific writing skills and is familiar with both quantitative and qualitative research designs.

Specifically for ESR 7: as the project will be conducted in joint collaboration with health care practice (e.g. nurses, doctors, other health care professionals), the candidate should preferably be able to speak the Dutch language.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

The full-time position is offered for four years (1+3), with a yearly evaluation. Your salary would be € 2.266,- gross per month in the first year up to € 2.897,- gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD-candidate salary scale. On top of this, there is an 8% holiday and an 8.3% year-end allowance.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > Support > UM employees.

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 16,300 students and 4,300 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/

Health Services Research

Department

The mission of the Department of Health Services Research is to improve quality of life, quality and efficiency of chronic care and care of older people. We do this by studying and teaching innovations in a multidisciplinary way addressing the broad spectrum from prevention to palliative care. https://hsr.mumc.maastrichtuniversity.nl/

The department is part of the School CAPHRI (Care and Public Health Research Institute) of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/research/school-caphri-care-and-public-health-research-institute

Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care

The Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care is a formal and structural multidisciplinary network consisting of Maastricht University, seven long-term care organizations (Cicero Zorggroep, Envida, Mosae Zorggroep, MeanderGroep Zuid- Limburg, Sevagram, Vivantes and Zuyderland), Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and Gilde Zorgcollege, all located in the southern part of the Netherlands. In the Living Lab we aim to improve the quality of care and quality of life for older people via a structural multidisciplinary collaboration between research, policy, education and practice. Practitioners (such as nurses, physicians, psychologists, physio- and occupational therapists), work together with managers, researchers, students, teachers and older people themselves to develop and test innovations in long-term care.

https://hsr.mumc.maastrichtuniversity.nl