PhD Studentship in Psychology: Promoting Positive Behaviour Change in Early Stage Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Supervisors: Dr Dan Jones; Dr Aileen Ho; Dr Emma Vaux

Project Overview:

The kidneys are specialised organs in the body that filter the body of waste and toxic substances. However, these organs sometimes go wrong leading to dysfunction. If this continues for more than a few months, it is termed Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). There are five stages of CKD, ranging from mild loss of kidney function to kidney failure (ESKD), but not all disease progresses to end stage kidney failure. There are certain behaviours and treatments that can slow, or even stop, progression of the disease, including dietary management, physical exercise, medication adherence, and more. Despite knowledge and information on progression of the disease, the number of patients entering end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is increasing year-on-year, with the most recent records showing a 7.3% increase in the number of patients starting kidney replacement therapy in 2021, compared to 2020 (UK Renal Registry 25th Annual report, 2021). Kidney disease is projected to be the 5th cause of premature death, globally, by 2040.

The focus of this PhD is to examine behaviours and outcomes in the early stages of CKD where progression of the disease is often preventable and therefore providing a real opportunity to impact primary and secondary prevention rather than tertiary prevention of health problems.

The primary aims of this research are the following:

1. to examine how patients acquire and use information to inform health-related decisions.
2. to examine clinician-patient communication.
3. to use novel approaches from psychology to develop strategies, advice and interventions.
4. to examine shared decision-making/personalised care.

Candidates should be familiar with quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis. Candidates should be comfortable with the hospital setting, as most of the data collection will involve in-person testing at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading; consequently, this PhD cannot be undertaken by-distance. The candidate will be encouraged to write up their work as scientific publications throughout the PhD.

Eligibility: 

• Applicants should hold or expect to gain a minimum of a 2:1 Bachelor Degree or equivalent in psychology or a closely related subject, such as cognitive science.
• Due to restrictions on the funding this studentship is open to UK applicants.

Funding Details:

• Starts 23^rd September 2024
• 3-year award
• Funding covers full tuition fees plus UKRI stipend - £19,237 per annum.

How to apply:

To apply click https://bit.ly/ReadingPhDApply and create your account, and use the link sent by email to start the application process. During the application process please select the PhD in Psychology (School of Psychology & CLS)

*Important notes*

1. Please quote the reference ‘DRC24-018’ in the ‘Scholarships applied for’ box which appears within the Funding Section of your on-line application.
2. If the application system prompts you to submit a research proposal, please paste in the project title and move on to the next step in the application.

Application Deadline: 23^rd April 2024

Further Enquiries: Please note that, where a candidate is successful in being awarded funding, this will be confirmed via a formal studentship award letter; this will be provided separately from any Offer of Admission and will be subject to standard checks for eligibility and other criteria. 

For further details please contact dan.jones@reading.ac.uk

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