PhD Scholarship – Core Outcome Sets (COS) for preconception care and contraceptive choice and uptake
Job No.: 675575
Location: 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: 3-year fixed-term appointment
Remuneration: The successful applicant will receive a tax-free stipend, at the current value of $36,063 per annum 2025 full-time rate, as per the Monash Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend www.monash.edu/study/fees-scholarships/scholarships/find-a-scholarship/research-training-program-scholarship#scholarship-details
- Be inspired, every day
- Drive your own learning at one of the world’s top 80 universities
- Take your career in exciting, rewarding directions
About the project
Core outcome sets (COS) are a standardised group of outcomes that should be measured and reported on in clinical trials. They decrease heterogeneity among clinical trials, improve systematic review and guideline quality, drive the development of national data registries, help set standards for health care and help measure the impact of future policies. COS already exist for abortion research, but not for preconception care and contraception research.
This PhD project will involve the development of COS for preconception care and contraceptive choice and uptake. The outcomes reported in quantitative and qualitative systematic reviews of studies will be analysed and a Delphi method involving key stakeholders will be utilised to rate outcome measures that are considered important before finalisation through a series of consensus development meetings. The COS can then be used by researchers in the reporting process in future trials that are focused on preconception care and contraception
SPHERE and Monash University
The successful candidate will be part of a multidisciplinary cohort of researchers and students based at the SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care. SPHERE’s focus is on improving access to and the quality of women’s sexual and reproductive health care services particularly in the areas of preconception care, contraception, medical abortion services and endometriosis and pelvic pain diagnosis and management in primary care. For more information about the important work that SPHERE does, please visit the website.
SPHERE is located at the Department of General Practice at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and is part of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (MNHS) at Monash University.
Monash University is a member of Australia’s Group of Eight coalition, and is internationally recognized for excellence in research and teaching as one of the world's top 80 universities. Embedded in an ecosystem of health, academia and industry, it delivers the research outcomes, skilled workforce, technology and partnerships to improve human health locally and globally.
Supervisory team
The principal supervisor will be Professor Danielle Mazza AM FAHMS.
Professor Mazza is the Head of the Department of General Practice at Monash University and a nationally and internationally recognised leader in implementation research and knowledge translation in the general practice setting. She has made significant, sustained and ongoing contributions to advance general practice and primary health care in Australia in the field of women’s sexual and reproductive health and as a proponent of evidence-based quality improvement through guideline development and implementation. She leads the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women in Primary Care (SPHERE), which aims to improve the quality, safety, and capacity of primary health care services to achieve better outcomes in women’s sexual and reproductive health.
Eligibility Requirements
This opportunity is available to domestic students only. Candidates will need to fulfil the Monash University minimum requirements for admission to a PhD detailed here: www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum.
How to apply
Please email your expression of interest in this scholarship and PhD research opportunity to sphere-cre@monash.edu.
We request candidates provide:
- A cover letter describing your research interests and why you would like to undertake a PhD (maximum one page)
- A CV including qualifications, academic achievements, list of publications, work history and references
- A copy of your academic transcript(s)
Enquiries: sphere-cre@monash.edu
Applications Close: Tuesday 18 March 2025, 11:55pm AEDT
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