The PhD student will participate in a national research programme on elderly care in rural areas, studying how healthcare organisations experiment with innovative care models to develop sustainable high-quality care in regions facing an increasing elderly – and shrinking workforce – population, considering today’s (and tomorrow’s) rural challenges. The research comprises an action-oriented approach in which a team of researchers acts with healthcare organisations and national (policy) agencies in building new healthcare arrangements, both within existing elderly care facilities and among regional cooperating healthcare organizations. The PhD will become part of this team. Next to research, the PhD student will participate in our teaching programmes.

The successful candidate should have an MSc in, for example, sociology, science & technology studies, anthropology, health sciences or human geography, and should be trained in qualitative methods (particularly ethnography). The candidate has an affinity with healthcare and is strong in theoretical work. The candidate should be willing to travel for fieldwork, works well in teams and has excellent English language skills (both in writing and speaking) and masters the Dutch language. Fieldwork will be conducted in Dutch.

Fixed-term contract: 4 Years.

We offer an appointment as PhD student for the period of 1.5 year, but with the intention to extending the position to a 4-year period. Remuneration will be according to the PhD scales set by the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities and ranges from € 2.325 in the first year to € 2.975 in the fourth year. In addition, there is a holiday allowance (8%), a set end-of-year bonus (8,3%), and generous opportunities for post-doctoral training and attending scientific conferences. Full time is considered to be 38 hours a week.

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM)

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam and is responsible for a bachelors and three (international) master programmes on health policy, economics and management, serving more than 800 students. ESHPM is a multidisciplinary school with research focusing on three main themes: ‘competition and regulation in healthcare’; ‘quality and efficiency in healthcare’; ‘healthcare management’. The position is offered in the Healthcare governance group, which operates on the intersection of these three main themes.