Job offer Midwifery and Public Health: Fully Funded PhD in Developing digital innovations for autism-informed maternity care

Job offer

JOB

United Kingdom

Swansea University

Posted on: 19 March 2025

Midwifery and Public Health: Fully Funded PhD in Developing digital innovations for autism-informed maternity care

Apply now

Job Information

• Organisation/Company: Swansea University


• Department: Central


• Research Field: Medical sciences » Health sciences


• Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)


• Positions: PhD Positions


• Country: United Kingdom


• Application Deadline: 21 Apr 2025 - 13:59 (Europe/London)


• Type of Contract: Temporary


• Job Status: Full-time


• Hours Per Week: 35


• Offer Starting Date: 1 Jul 2025


• Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme


• Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Autistic people face challenges in accessing healthcare, especially during pregnancy, due to sensorily aggressive clinical environments, and systemic barriers in healthcare, which can make continuity of care and tailored support difficult to provide. Also, maternity professionals often lack training in neurodiversity-affirming and autism-informed approaches, leading to unmet needs and poorer outcomes for staff and service users.

This project aims to investigate how digital training tools can be used to improve the confidence and competence of maternity health professionals in providing autism-informed maternity care. The focus will be on co-producing the training approach with autistic researchers, service users and maternity staff. This includes creating and evaluating accessible digital resources and exploring the potential of VR scenarios to improve knowledge, confidence, empathy, and skills, with a particular emphasis on fostering inclusive practices. The outcomes will provide critical insights and methodologies for embedding autism-informed practices into maternity services, enhancing care quality and support for staff.

Where to apply

Website: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/scholarships/research/health-science-phd…

Requirements

• Research Field: Other


• Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent


• Skills/Qualifications: IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent.

Additional Information

Benefits

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

Eligibility criteria

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA regulations.

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master's degree. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master's degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019.

Selection process

Please see our website for further information.

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1


• Company/Institute: Swansea university


• Country: United Kingdom


• City: Swansea


• Postal Code: SA2 8PP

Contact

• State/Province: West Glamorgan


• City: Swansea


• Street: Singleton Park


• Postal Code: SA28PP


• E-Mail: H.A.Morse@swansea.ac.uk


• Phone: +44(0)1792602768

STATUS: EXPIRED

Apply now

#s1-Gen

Bachelor Degree or equivalent, IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent., Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master's degree. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master's degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019.

Autistic people face challenges in accessing healthcare, especially during pregnancy, due to sensorily aggressive clinical environments, and systemic barriers in healthcare, which can make continuity of care and tailored support difficult to provide. Also, maternity professionals often lack training in neurodiversity-affirming and autism-informed approaches, leading to unmet needs and poorer outcomes for staff and service users.

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.
Eligibility criteria

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA regulations