Carer and Family Involvement in Decision Making around Medicines Use within Virtual Ward Settings

About the Project

Shared decision making is a collaborative process that involves a person and their healthcare professional(s) working together to reach a joint decision about care. In 2021, NICE guidance recommended how to make shared-decision making part of routine care in all settings. The recommendations suggest that, where appropriate, caregivers can be part of shared-decision making. While guidance suggests involving caregivers in shared-decision making, it is unclear how this should be achieved within primary care relating to medicines. In parallel, virtual wards (also known as hospital at home) provide hospital level care at home and are a developing area of care and research. Little is known regarding shared-decision making around medicines use within the virtual ward setting. This is further the case when a patient has a family member or friend who acts as a carer and supports them in their medicines use within the virtual ward setting. This area will form the basis for the PhD.

This PhD will focus on exploring the factors at individual, organisational and systems level that impact the involvement of family and cares in decision making around medicines use within virtual ward settings. Involving people with lived experience in the design of the study and also at analysis and designing implementation is a key part of the PhD. The lead supervisor has established links with local carer groups to help with this. The proposed methods would be qualitative in-depth interviews with patients, carers, and healthcare professionals, however depending on the candidate’s expertise, mixed methods could also be used. This project would be suitable for a student with a health, social science or humanities background such as sociology, psychology, pharmacy or nursing.

References

• Cooper M, Atkinson O, Black D, Lindsey L, Cooper C, Nazar H, Wong G, Hughes C, Richardson CL. Informal carer involvement in the transition of medicines-related care for patients moving from hospital to home: a realist review protocol. BMJ Open. 2024;14(9):e091005.
• Richardson CL, Edwards K, Lunny J, Lindsey L. A qualitative exploration of the barriers and enablers to supporting informal and familial carers within community pharmacies. Int J Pharm Pract. 2024;32(3):201-207.
• Richardson CL, Black D, Lindsey L, Nazar H. Community pharmacies as a place for informal carer support in mental health and wellbeing. Int J Clin Pharm. 2023;45(5):1302-1306.

Funding Notes

This project is suitable for self-funded students or students with third-party sponsorship. There is no dedicated funding from the university for this project. The student will be expected to provide funding for tuition fees and living expenses. UK students may be able to apply for a Doctoral Loan from Student Finance for financial support. Some students may be eligible to apply for supplemental funding.

Details about the tuition fees and a supplemental funding search tool are available on our website: View Website

Applications accepted all year round

Self-Funded PhD Students Only