[UK] ESRC Case PhD Scholarship - Queen Mary University
ESRC Case PhD Scholarship: Analysis of Small Area Trends and Differentials in Life Expectancy in London.(QMUL in partnership with Havering Primary Care Trust) Annual maintenance £16,300 (full-time).
The UK government has set a target of reduced inequalities in small area life expectancy. This raises questions about which type of area might be more likely to show progress towards increased life expectancy. For example, is the tenure and ethnic composition of small areas relevant to improved life expectancy as well as health service spending. Analysis at small area level also raises issues about appropriate techniques for small event numbers.
The major component of this project will consider trends in life expectancy in the 630 wards in London since 2002. The type of quantitative analysis adopted will depend to a considerable extent on the background of the student, but it is likely that multilevel modelling techniques (e.g. in MLWIN) or other relevant software will be needed as small numbers are involved. Of relevance to the health target question is whether inequalities in mortality between wards in London have been reduced in the 2000s, and one aspect of the project will be to apply inequality measures to life expectancy contrasts.
A major further aim of the project will be to assess the impact of social factors and health spending on changed life expectancy. These include socio-economic effects (tenure, employment status, etc) and differentials in mortality between ethnic groups. To take account of spending on major disease areas and the provision and quality of primary care (e.g. GPs per head), a multi-level analysis will be needed to model both ward level and PCT level influences.
A secondary project will analyze mortality over a relatively longer period (1999-2003) at micro area level, with a view to detecting localised mortality extremes and including micro area indicators from the ODPM, such as the Index of Multiple Deprivation. The geographic scale will be the Super Output Area (SOA) level within NE London.
Application Deadline : 15 August 2007
Download the project brief and an application form.
For further details: Contact Peter Congdon on 020 7882 5400, 020 7882 2778 or via e-mail at p.congdon@qmul.ac.uk
Or contact: Jennifer Murray, tel: 020 7882 8165; j.c.murray@qmul.ac.uk or Eszter Gillay, tel: 020 7882 8168; e.gillay@qmul.ac.uk
Completed application forms should be returned to
Jennifer Murray,
Department of Geography,
Mile End Rd,
London E1 4NS by Friday 29th June 2007.
Further details and application form at
http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/studentship.html
