How should we communicate with individuals with chest, heart and stroke conditions and their support communities to promote physical activity enhance health and wellbeing?

Studentship opportunity

This studentship is funded by the ESRC through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS)

Institution

University of Edinburgh

Pathway

Health, Wellbeing and Communities

Studentship

Open Collaborative

Mode of study

Full-time / Part-time

Application deadline

4pm, 14 April 2022

Applications are due 24 March 2026, 5 pm GMT and

References are due 26 March 2026, 5 pm GMT

Project details

Twenty percent of Scotland’s population, 1.1 million people, live with a chest, heart or stroke (CHS) condition. The health and well-being benefits of physical activity (PA) for people with CHS conditions outweigh the risks; however, more than half do not get referred to rehabilitation services and face condition-specific barriers to being active including pain, palpitations, fear of worsening symptoms and lack of confidence. Communities of support (families, friends, carers) often lack knowledge of how to support PA and may actively discourage activity due to misconceived perceptions of risk. Evidence-based solutions are required to promote PA and enhance health in people with CHS conditions incorporating their supportive networks.

WHO policy recommendations highlight communication as a key tool to address barriers and impact behaviour. However, substantial uncertainties exist in how to communicate messages promoting PA to people with CHS conditions. Utilising the Physical Activity Messaging Framework developed by this supervisory team, this innovative studentship aims to rigorously develop and evaluate PA messages for individuals at risk of, or with CHS conditions, and their support communities. Drawing from lived experiences of these populations underpinned by behaviour change theory (COM-B), the PhD will utilise novel, co-production methods with the student leading three studies to: (1) qualitatively explore messaging preferences; (2) co-develop messages with CHS communities and practitioners; and (3) test message effectiveness on PA-related behavioural outcomes.

The student will be hosted by the internationally recognised Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC), partnering with Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS); the largest Scottish health charity working with people with CHS conditions and their support communities. They will be supervised to develop advanced social science skills in a range of methods. This studentship will produce impactful, transferable and scalable communication strategies directly contributing to improved health for CHS populations in Scotland and beyond.

First Supervisor: Dr Graham Baker, graham.baker@ed.ac.uk
Second Supervisor: Dr Paul Kelly, p.kelly@ed.ac.uk
Third Supervisor: Dr Chloë Williamson, chloe.williamson@ed.ac.uk

Collaborative Partner: Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland

About the University

Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, was ranked first in Scotland for research power in Education and Sport (REF 2021, Times Higher Education). We offer the largest concentration of researchers in education in a Scottish university, meaning that our postgraduate researchers are supported by and collaborate with leaders in the field. Our research activities cover all aspects of education and learning – from pre-school to higher education and lifelong learning – and a wide range of aspects relating to sport, physical education and health sciences. Find out more about our vibrant postgraduate research community at https://education-sport.ed.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research-degrees

Within MHSES, the research student will become a core member of the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) where the supervisory team are based. PAHRC provides a unique environment where the candidate will benefit from a close-knit community of international experts in physical activity research. The candidate will interact with some of the world’s leading physical activity for health experts, who have helped to shape physical activity guidelines and policy nationally and internationally. The candidate will therefore be uniquely placed to develop world leading research and knowledge exchange skills. In addition, they will be invited to be involved in, for example, weekly seminars on Physical Activity and Health related topics and the annual Scottish Physical Activity Research Connections (SPARC) conference. The appointed candidate will benefit from PAHRC’s Early Career Researcher group; a supportive community that meet regularly and are supported by the wider PAHRC team in various areas of professional development. This complements the offering from the Graduate School at Moray House School of Education and Sport, which provides bespoke training for doctoral researchers in this area.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants must hold or be predicted a First or a good 2:1 undergraduate degree in the social sciences, or have relevant comparable experience.
Applicants can have a Masters degree, however this is not a requirement.
The applicant must also show demonstrable interest in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants can study part-time or full-time

Funding

As per guidance published by UKRI in October 2020, a maximum of 30% of all studentships awarded can be made to international students, with the remaining 70% going to home students.

Residential Criteria

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
Have settled status, or
Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

For more on the UKRI eligibility guidance, click here

As per guidance published by UKRI in October 2020, a maximum of 30% of all studentships awarded can be made to international students, of which SGSSS has now awarded for the 2021/22 round of studentship awards. As such, this opportunity is only open to home students.

Residential Criteria

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
Have settled status, or
Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

If you do not meet the criteria above, you will be classed as an international student and will not be eligible to apply. To establish if you would be classed as a home student, please see pages 4 and 5 of the UKRI eligibility guidance here.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a +3.5 (3 year PhD and placement) or a 1+3.5 (Masters year, 3 year PhD, and a placement) studentship depending on prior research training. This will be assessed as part of the recruitment process, however you can access guidance here to help you decide on which to apply for. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full ESRC studentship package includes, as advised by ESRC:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend)
Fees at the standard institutional home rate
Students can also draw on a pooled Research Training Support Grant (RTSG)

Other information

For an applicant’s first degree, (UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent postgraduate degree), there must be a 60% overall grade point average, and 60% in the dissertation, or its international equivalent. We may also consider your application if you have other qualifications or substantial experience; if in doubt, please contact us to check before you apply.

For international applicants, you must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme. You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following: an English language test, a degree that was taught and assessed in English, certain professional qualifications. For further information on the English Language tests we accept please use the following link: https://study.ed.ac.uk/programmes/postgraduate-research/968-sport-physical-education-and-health-sciences#entry-requirements

Candidates would ideally have experience in, or be able to demonstrate an interest in undertaking research with individuals living with long-term health conditions.

The ideal candidate would have experience in using qualitative methods in a social science context but training can be undertaken during the doctoral programme.

Candidates should demonstrate an interest in using participatory and co-design methodologies.

If applying for the 1+3.5 (Masters year , 3 year PhD, and placement period) studentship, then there a highly suitable Masters programme would be the MSc in Social Research, please find more details at: https://study.ed.ac.uk/programmes/postgraduate-taught/313-social-research

How to apply

Applicants must register on SGSSS Apply, completing their Equal Opportunities data.
Applicants must apply via SGSSS Apply, uploading the following documentation:

- Application Questions (answered within SGSSS Apply, no upload needed)
- Academic transcripts
- Academic prizes
- Referee information
- CV
- Other information (if required by the advert)

We strongly encourage applicants review the applicant guidance document for more on the process.

Please Note:

This is not an application to the relevant University, this is an application for SGSSS (ESRC) funding.
Students do not need a Masters/PhD offer from the relevant University before they can apply for funding, i.e. this studentship.
If successful in obtaining the SGSSS (ESRC) studentship, students can only start the funded studentship once they have an unconditional Masters/PhD degree offer from the relevant University. It is your responsibility to find out the University’s application process, including when you need to secure your offer, as SGSSS plays no role in this process.

This studentship opportunity will open for applications on 9th June.

Selection process

Applications will be ranked by an internal institutional selection panel, and you will be notified if you have been shortlisted for interview on or around 7 or 8th April. Interviews will take place on or around 14th and 15th April.

This studentship award is subject to the successful candidate securing admission to a PhD programme within the University of Edinburgh. The successful candidate will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme.

Contact details

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Team SGSSS

Email

SGSSS Team (for questions on the application portal, only), for any questions on the project, email the supervisory team (see details in abstract above)

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