PhD Fellow in Pharmacoepidemiology

About this position

The position

A PhD position is available at the Department of Pharmacy (IFA), Faculty of Health Sciences with the Research group for Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacoepidemiology (IPSUM).

The position is for a period of three years which is the nominal length of the PhD programme. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The project

The position is affiliated with the project “Using Tromsø Study Data to Advance Community Pharmacy Practice. The project’s primary objective is to contribute to improved medication therapy from both individual and public health perspectives. As part of the project, the PhD candidate will address the following research questions:

• Satisfaction with medication information provided by pharmacies

What factors characterize participants who are either satisfied or dissatisfied with the information they receive about their medications at pharmacies (e.g., demographics, medication groups, or receipt of the Inhaler Technique Assessment Service or the New Medicine Service)? Is satisfaction associated with receiving information from pharmacies and general practitioners, with general beliefs about medicines, or with the achievement of treatment goals? If this can be investigated, is there an association between satisfaction and the receipt of pharmacy services such as the New Medicine Service or the Inhaler Technique Assessment Service?

• Perceived importance of medications

Is there agreement between which medication users consider to be their single most important medication and which medication healthcare professionals (pharmacists) consider to be the most important? If there is disagreement, what characterizes the participants for whom this occurs? Is an disagreement associated with factors such as beliefs about medicines or the achievement of treatment goals?

• Views and attitudes regarding medication use

What general views and attitudes toward medicines are held by medication users in the general Norwegian population? What factors characterize the different categories of views and attitudes?

Data from the Tromsø Study, linked to the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry, make it possible to identify important target groups for such services. The study population will include participants in the Tromsø Study who report using medications (approximately 10,000 individuals). The data will include, among other variables, whether participants have received medication information from a physician and/or pharmacy, their information needs, their views and attitudes toward medicines and medication use, the medications they use, and other relevant variables relating to health, lifestyle, and sociodemographic characteristics.

See helsedata.no for an overview of the variables available in the Tromsø Study and the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry

The applicants must submit a short description outlining the academic basis of the PhD project. The project description must not exceed 800 words, excluding potential literature references. It must include a short introduction of the topic, research question(s), suggested methods and a reasoning of the methodological choices.

The final project description will be developed in collaboration with the supervisors.

Jon Terje Hellren Hansen

Qualifications

This position requires a master’s degree or equivalent in pharmacy, other health professions, health-informatics or similar. A master’s thesis in social pharmacy, pharmacoepidemiology, epidemiology or informatics with the use of health data. Relevant research experience beyond the master’s thesis is favourable but not a requirement.

Applicants must document fluency in English. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, any other scientific work and the project description (see above). Other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration, for example experience in fields that generates health data such as the health services including pharmacies.

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for a candidate who:

Is structured, accurate and preferably creative in their work approach

Can work independently

Have good collaboration skills

Have good communication and social interaction with colleagues

Has the ability and wish to contribute to a good working environment

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the

Faculty of Health Sciences

and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:

A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.

A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.

A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.

Applicants must have a grade of C or better on the master's thesis and have a grade point average of C or better for the master's degree. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found

here

.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final ad