Research Assistant/Associate

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

The Role
Nearly 1 million people in the UK will be living with dementia by 2030. Social prescribing is a 'prescription' of non-drug, social activities for a person to use to link with others and undertake activities they might enjoy and have health benefits e.g. walking or singing group, visit to a museum or attending peer groups at dementia cafes. In social prescribing, people meet with staff called LinkWorkers, who have a conversation with them to help them think about what they enjoy and what might help with both their physical and mental health needs. The Link Worker might then introduce them to a group or activity or support them to find information to make links. Family members can be involved too. Research shows social prescribing has better effects than just taking medicine and is happening more often.

The SPLENDID study, which is led by Exeter University, aims to understand how we ensure social prescribing is useful and helpful to people with dementia and their families. SPLENDID researchers will talk with people with dementia, family carers and staff working in social prescribing to understand what people want, what works well and what could be improved. We will use this to design, with people with dementia, what looks like the best way for social prescribing with people with dementia. We will create some tools (online and face-to-face) to help workers and people with dementia talk and think together about what might help them. We will test it with a small group of people to see if it helps and look at what training LinkWorkers need to offer the best support for people with dementia and their families. We then decide if this should be taken forward and tested in a larger study to see if it improves peoples' well-being and is value for money.

Newcastle University's role in the SPLENDID programme is twofold i) leading on a systematic review to determine appropriate and valid outcome measures for assessing social prescribing interventions in dementia care (year 1 of the programme) and ii) acting as a pilot site for testing the newly developed intervention (years 3 and 4). This role is to help the lead researcher undertake and complete the systematic review in the required time frame.

This post is 80% FTE, tenable for 1 year initially.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Angela Mattison via email angela.mattison@newcastle.ac.uk.

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Qualifications

• A PhD in relevant area for appointment at Research Associate Level.
• Good undergraduate degree (at least 2:1) in a relevant social science subject (e.g., psychology, sociology and/or a health-related discipline) For Research Assistant level.

Desirable

• A Master’s degree in a relevant subject (e.g., public health, health promotion, health psychology, epidemiology, clinical trials or equivalent).

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