Research Associate: HSDR Study

F/T Research Associate position at University of West London to deliver the HSDR study “Understanding the support needs of African and African-Caribbean people living with dementia, their care partners and families and the impacts of delayed support: identifying inclusive strategies to facilitate timely and culturally appropriate social care support”

The University of West London (UWL) is ranked the best modern* university (non-specialist) in London in the Complete University Guide 2023.

*University status awarded in or after 1992

The Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory

We are a flagship Institute at the University of West London (UWL), delivering interdisciplinary applied research and education. Our focus is on delivering the evidence to inform high quality, cutting edge, health and social care to benefit people living with dementia, older people, and their care partners and families.

At the heart of our mission is to ensure the most vulnerable populations of people living with dementia and older people have better experiences of health and social care and are supported in living well and living at home for longer. All our research and education programmes are guided by an inclusive approach.

We are an interdisciplinary team, with expertise in sociology, psychology, social policy, epidemiology, nursing, and philosophy, with our research drawing upon a wide range of methodologies.

Our research funding incorporates Department of Health and Social Care contracts (via NIHR), funding from national and international charities, and philanthropic support. We have established a reputation for the rapid translation of our research into impact, which is informing public discourse, shaping the policy agenda, and translated into practice improvements.

Our postgraduate education programmes offer interdisciplinary, research focused, evidence-based teaching and supervision. Our postgraduate courses are designed to cultivate leaders in ageing and dementia care, and improve practice across health and social care settings.

The School of Medicine and Biosciences

The School of Medicine and Biosciences at UWL, is an interdisciplinary research-driven School, embedded within an area of West London with diverse populations and significant pockets of both deprivation and affluence. We work in partnership with policy makers and practitioners to improve the health of our communities and reduce inequalities, developing and delivering hyperlocal health and social care initiatives, which have the potential to scale up locally and nationally. We deliver research-led undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses in Biosciences and Dementia Care. Our research themes: Ageing and dementia; Healthcare inequalities; Public Health; Gene-targeted cancer therapy; and Translational Medicine.

The Role

The post will have a key role in the delivery of the NIHR HSDR study “Understanding the support needs of African and African-Caribbean people living with dementia, their care partners and families and the impacts of delayed support: identifying inclusive strategies to facilitate timely and culturally appropriate social care support”. This 36-month mixed methods study uses a flexible exploratory sequential design, integrating evidence synthesis (co-produced meta-aggregation) and qualitative methods: case studies (narrative interviews), ethnography (observations, in-situ interviews, documentary analysis) and co-produced translation. The goal is to improve how services recognise and support African and African Caribbean people living with dementia, alongside their families and care partners.

The post-holder will work closely with the PI on all aspects of the study to deliver the evidence synthesis, qualitative work packages, programme of co-production, publications, and outputs, including the dissemination and the delivery of impact.

The Person

Applications for this position are invited from candidates who will ideally have experience of working within mixed-methods research projects in dementia, mental health or with other vulnerable groups, as well as excellent communication and organisational skills. We are particularly keen to receive applications from candidates with experience of ethnographic data collection.