Research Associate

The Department of Psychology at the University of Bath is seeking a highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Associate to join the NIHR-funded Bath Mental Health Research Group (£11M). 

About the role

The Bath Mental Health Research Group aims to improve mental health and wellbeing in young people aged between 12 and 25 in Bath, North-East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire. 

This role is embedded within a programme of applied research focused on improving access to, and outcomes from, community mental health services for children and young people, with a particular focus on neurodivergent youth through the use of electronic health records.

The Research Associate will join the project, “Harnessing the power of electronic health records to understand and improve access and outcomes in community mental health services for neurodivergent youth”, led by Dr Katherine Button.

There is a substantial gap in mental health provision for children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and oppositional defiant disorder, which is particularly concerning given their high rates of co-occurring anxiety and/or depression. 

Needs and outcome reporting in children and young people’s mental health services is highly variable, making it difficult to build a clear picture of current provision and to identify opportunities for targeted improvement. 

It is therefore unclear how well these services are meeting the needs of neurodivergent youth, and whether modifications to existing treatments (e.g. adapted CBT) are required. 

This project aims to use routinely collected health data to better understand current practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and inform future service development.

To address these issues, the Research Associate will work in partnership with the digital technology company Mayden and with community mental health services to produce publications and applied research outputs, including:

• Using routinely collected clinical and administrative mental health data to examine how neurodiversity and co-occurring externalising difficulties are recorded within services for children and young people, the types of interventions received, and whether patterns of access and outcomes differ across groups.
• Conducting quantitative analyses of large-scale health and service-level datasets to address applied research questions relevant to community mental health provision, and contributing to peer-reviewed publications and reports.
• Working with key stakeholders (e.g. NHS services, commissioners, clinicians, young people and carers) to understand data practices and priorities, and contributing to co-production activities aimed at identifying and refining candidate screening and outcome measures suitable for use within electronic health record systems.
• Producing evidence-based recommendations and outputs to inform future service development, data use, and best-practice guidance.

What we're looking for

We welcome applications from candidates who have:

• A PhD in psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, statistics, data science or related discipline, with a strong quantitative research element.
• Knowledge and experience of mental health research, ideally with children and young people.
• Experience of working with administrative data, electronical health records and/or big data is desirable but not essential
• Experience with advanced quantitative data analysis and data code (preferably using R or Stata) and a commitment to research integrity, reproducibility, and open research.
• Excellent team working, communication, and time management skills.
• While prior experience of working with electronic health records or administrative data is desirable, candidates with strong quantitative skills and a demonstrable interest in applied mental health research are encouraged to apply.

Informal enquiries about this role should be directed to Dr Katherine Button 

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