PhD Research Scholarship - The Bouverie Centre
Background
Scholarship code: SRS-23006
Building the capability of mental health services to provide family-based practices: Impact and Implementation
This scholarship has been made available with funding from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Division of the Victorian Department of Health. The Bouverie Centre is a systemic practice-research-translation organisation with a mission to promote healthy relationships in families, organisations, and communities. The Centre is located within the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University. This PhD scholarship is offered within The Bouverie Centre’s Practice & Service Development program which conducts workforce development informed by implementation science.
The PhD candidature
This PhD with publications aims to explore the implementation and impact of family-based approaches at organization (mental health service), practitioner, individual and family levels. The PhD candidate will have extensive learning and research opportunities within the broad field of workforce and service development. The candidate will develop a unique understanding of workforce and organizational capability and capacity building as this relates to family-based approaches in mental health. The research will be conducted within implementation and translational science frameworks.
The candidate will have the opportunity to utilise The Bouverie Centre’s existing workforce data collected from over 6000 trainees over the last 3 years.
Possible key research questions and topics
Possible questions include: What are the characteristics of trainees and service settings associated with uptake of family-based approaches in mental health? What enables and constrains translation of these approaches into practice? How do we understand the process by which practitioners and organisations adopt family-based practices? How is the implementation and impact of family-based approaches best measured at an individual, family, practitioner and organisational level?
Other questions and topics may include exploring the influence on training outcomes of participant readiness for new learning and the impact of training on participants' own family life.
Research design, methods and expectations of this PhD program:
This PhD is likely to utilise mixed design with the integration of qualitative methodologies with quantitative data.
The PhD candidate will refine specific research questions and the corresponding suite of analyses to address the research question/s. The candidate will be expected to design and conduct an appropriate systematic literature review to commence the program of research. By the conclusion of the PhD the candidate will have published two papers and have a third paper prepared for submission.
Supervisors Associate Professor Brendan O’Hanlon, Dr Mohajer Hameed and Professor Jenn McIntosh will provide methodology expertise to co-lead analyses and assist in writing up results for this program of research.
The PhD candidate will be mentored at The Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University and will be supported in learning both theoretical approaches to workforce training in mental health and respective research methods. The candidate will join a growing cohort of PhD candidates within the centre and profit from its unique practice-oriented research and research translation.
To express your interest and request in principle agreement to apply, please contact Associate Professor Brendan O’Hanlon, Dr Mohajer Hameed and Professor Jenn McIntosh. Only applicants who have contacted the listed supervisors and have been invited to apply with be considered for this scholarship.
Benefits of the scholarship include:
- a Bouverie Centre - La Trobe Research Scholarship for three years, with a value of $45,000 per annum, to support your living costs
- publication / thesis / conference presentation allowance
- opportunities to work with La Trobe’s outstanding researchers and have access to our suite of professional development programs.
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, applicants must:
To be eligible to apply for this PhD scholarship, the applicant must:
- meet the entrance requirements entry into PhD at La Trobe University
- not be receiving another scholarship greater than 75 per cent of the stipend rate for the same purpose.
- be an Australian and New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident
In selecting successful applicants, we prioritise applications from candidates who:
- will be enrolled full-time
- have completed a Masters by Research or other significant body of research, such as an honours research thesis or lead authorship of a peer-reviewed publication, assessed at a La Trobe Masters by research standard of 75 or above
Recipients of the scholarship shall be selected by the University based on their:
If you are invited to apply and shortlisted for the scholarship and candidature, you will be invited to an interview with representatives of La Trobe University and Department of Health.
The final decision will be made based on your application and interview. The successful candidate will be made an offer for candidature and scholarship.
How to apply
Please contact Associate Professor Brendan O’Hanlon, Dr Mohajer Hameed and Professor Jenn McIntosh to express your interest and to discuss project opportunities before the closing date. Only applicants who have contacted the listed supervisors and have been invited to apply with be considered for this scholarship.
Once you have received in principle agreement and been invited to apply, please follow the 'Applying for a PhD' instructions - select the 'Graduate Research - Specialist Research Scholarship' option when prompted in the application portal, and use the scholarship code SRS-23006.
A research proposal is required for this application, aligning with the general rationale, aims and methodology of this project (as described above).
Shortlisted applicants will be required to attend an interview.
Shortlisted applicants will be required to have a current police check and Working With Children Check prior to commencing the position (to be paid for by the applicant).
Who to contact for further information
For questions on how to apply, email Admissions.GRS@latrobe.edu.au, If you require further information about the scholarship please contact Associate Professor Brendan O’Hanlon (b.ohanlon@latrobe.edu.au) and Dr Mohajer Hameed (Mohajer.Hameed@latrobe.edu.au)