PhD Vacancy

Our research team has identified gaps in the toolkit of outcome measures used in evaluating the impact of healthcare interventions, particularly in non-curative care.

Several broad outcome measures of wellbeing have been developed for outcome measurement in non-curative care, including ICECAP, ASCOT, EQ-HWB, SWB-5D, QOL-ACC, WIX and WOOP. These measures are at different stages of development and are intended for use in different health and social care contexts. However, the performance of these measures in assessing the benefits of non-curative technologies is still unclear. Without comparative psychometric evidence it is difficult to inform further development of these and other measures, and for users to know which measure to select for their specific purpose or particular context.

To address this gap, we are seeking candidates with expertise in psychometrics to contribute to the evaluation of the outcome measures listed above. The successful candidate will play a key role in assessing the validity, reliability, and comparative performance of these measures, as well as contributing to the refinement of their applications where necessary.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to advance the measurement of outcomes in non-curative care. If you have a background in psychometrics and a passion for improving healthcare evaluation, we encourage you to apply and be part of our research team.

Job description
The PhD candidate will be part of a team conducting a large multi-instrument comparison study and contribute to the further validation and development of a set of wellbeing measures by investigating their psychometric properties in different contexts. The tasks of the PhD involve survey design, data collection, data analysis and disseminating findings through presentations, articles and other channels of interest. The study has two empirical parts: The first part involves cross-sectional data collection in a large and varied online sample (N=7000), presenting respondents with several wellbeing measures concurrently to assess and compare their psychometric performance. The second part involves case studies on selected technologies/interventions/populations aimed at assessing the validity of measures in specific contexts and their sensitivity to detect wellbeing improvements.

Expected outputs will include a protocol paper describing the methodology of the data collection, an overview paper on the validity and reliability of wellbeing measures in the general population and at least one case study report. There is room for the candidate to develop own ideas based on these data collections. In addition, the surveys and collected data need to be prepared for publishing in an open access repository, so that interested researchers can leverage the data for a range of other objectives. Evidence generated in this research can guide further development of wellbeing measures and choices of the appropriate measure in future evaluations of non-curative care.

The successful applicant is expected to have a recent or almost completed MSc degree in a relevant discipline, e.g., psychology, statistics, health sciences, health economics, sociology, or cognitive science. The ideal candidate has a quantitative background, experience with quantitative research methods and a motivation for psychometric research in the field of healthcare. Proficiency in research methods, statistics and data analysis techniques are desirable. Previous experience or coursework in psychometrics or related areas is an advantage. Applicants must able to collaborate closely in a multidisciplinary group of researchers from different departments of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and other universities. Excellent communication and writing skills in English are required, while good skills in Dutch is an advantage. Computer skills should at least include Microsoft office, and R, STATA or similar statistical software.

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 01-SEP-2024 and you will be based at [class.26087] in Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM). This position is for 1 fte. The salary ranges from a minimum of € 2.770 to a maximum of € 3.539 gross per month Scale PhD on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is entered into for the duration of (contractduur).

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget, foreign exchange opportunities with most costs paid by EUR, and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare.
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 3.700 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service
Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam and is responsible for a bachelor and four master programs on policy and management in healthcare, which serve 1000 students. In addition, research is being done on three major research themes: ‘competition and regulation in healthcare’, ‘quality and efficiency in healthcare’ and ‘healthcare management’. ESHPM has about 175 employees. The position offered is within the department of Health Economics (HE)

The Department of Health Economics (HE) at ESHPM is a globally renowned hub for research and education in health economics. The research group of Health Economics studies several prominent research themes in the field of Health Economics, in which this research group is nationally and internationally leading. The themes include Methodology of health economic evaluation, Priority setting in the distribution of health and healthcare, and Long-term care.

The department is responsible for teaching HE in several courses of the bachelor Health Policy and Management, the master programmes Health Economics Policy and Law (HEPL), and Health Economics (HE), and the European master programme Health Economics and Management (EUHEM).

Please submit your application, consisting of a motivation letter and CV, before the vacancy closing date.

The selection procedure consists of 1 or 2 interviews and (ADDITIONAL SELECTION MEASURES). Interviews are expected to be held in the period 8-21 July.

You can find more information about the EUR on our website www.eur.nl. For more information about this vacancy, please contact Elly Stolk via stolk@eshpm.eur.nl or +31611003217.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.