PHFI-NIHR: Global Health Research Centre

Call for applications – Fully funded hybrid PhD programme under the Global Health Research Centre

Institutions: Public Health Foundation of India (India) and University of Leicester (UK)
Duration: Three years
Start date: September 1, 2023
Overview
The National Institute for Health and Care Research has funded the Public Health Foundation of India and the University of Leicester to establish a Global Health Research Centre for Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs). MLTCs are commonly defined as the co-existence of two or more long term conditions, each of which is a long-term physical (e.g., diabetes), mental (e.g., depression) or infectious disease (hepatitis C). According to recent community surveys from India, the prevalence of MLTCs ranges from 9.4% to 65%. Age, female gender, lower socioeconomic status and physical inactivity are main risk factors for MLTCs. For more information on MLTCs, please see the editorial entitled “Multimorbidity or multiple long-term
conditions: need for bridging the evidence & care gaps to address an emerging priority public
health issue in India.”

Despite its growing burden, MLTCs have received minimal recognition from healthcare providers and policymakers. Health systems are still focused on individual disease management rather than having an integrated care model, resulting in the delivery of fragmented and inefficient care. The Centre aims to address some of these issues via codesigning, implementing and evaluating a patient-centered health system intervention comprising of decision support system, assisted telemedicine and patient facing application.