Developing an analytical framework of the societal cost of inequalities in perinatal mental illness. (code T2.2_SheffieldHallam)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Inequalities Challenge: Maternity Disparities Consortium (MDC) is proud to announce its PhD Studentship competition. We are seeking the next generation of researchers to help us tackle persistent inequalities in maternity. 

The MDC brings together a UK wide collaboration of universities, NHS trusts, councils, charities, and industry partners. You can find information about our consortium members here. Our goal is to improve outcomes for women and babies before, during, and after pregnancy through inclusive, evidence-based research. 

Capacity Development

The MDC capacity development programme aims to build the next generation of maternity disparities research leaders, strengthen the workforce to deliver and sustain impact across the UK and deliver on the government priorities including the Women’s Health Strategy for England and 10 Year Health Plan for England.  

The Consortium focuses on growing long-term research capacity and expertise, especially within underrepresented disciplines, professions and underserved communities; inspiring and supporting the next generation of researchers with the right skills mix to work across clinical, practice and research sectors.  

The Opportunity

We are offering up to 13 funded PhD studentships across a range of potential projects at universities across our Consortium. We are specifically looking to grow research capacity in methodological areas, including but not limited to, health economics, statistics, trial design, digital research, data science, implementation science and co-production methods where expertise is currently limited. 

Start: January 2027 

Duration: Up to 3 years (Full-Time) or 4 years at 0.8WTE (Part-Time) 

Funding:  

• Full home tuition fees covered (at 2026/27 UK rates). 
• Tax-free annual stipend at UKRI rates (£21,805/£23,805 outside London/ inside London from 1^st October 2026). 
• £5,000 (per award) contribution towards research, travel, training and consumables. 
• International students are welcome to apply but must secure alternative funding for the difference between UK and Overseas tuition fees.

The Project

Approximately 26% of women suffer from perinatal mental health (PMH) conditions including anxiety, depression and psychotic disorders. Poor PMH has a high adverse societal impact being associated with negative outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth and maternal death. PMH disorders are also associated with poorer maternal quality of life, long-term social disadvantage through altered employability, impaired mother–infant bonding, adverse infant developmental outcomes and increased child hospitalisation. In 2014, health economists determined the indirect societal costs for a single case of PMH to be over £75,000 for perinatal depression and almost £35,000 for perinatal anxiety. The adverse impact on the child accounted for 69% of these costs for depression and 40% for anxiety. A fifth of the costs were borne by the public sector – predominantly health and social care costs.

The student will develop a conceptual model linking maternal PMH to short and long term impacts on the woman’s health, the impacts on children and families over their life-courses as well as impacts beyond the health services e.g. on employment, life opportunities of the woman and adult family members, education and life opportunities of children and broader impacts such as those on child and adult social care and crime and criminal justice. The project will build on the work by Bauer et al 2025, which has considered outcomes that might be included in an economic evaluation of perinatal mental ill health. An incidence cost of illness model of PMH will be developed. The aim of this will be to scope data connectivity from existing relevant data sources and to frame a model to identify, quantify and value the different impacts and understand how costs of illness may vary according to the characteristics of women affected. The model will also be used to explore ‘what if’ analyses to investigate the impact of hypothetical interventions to prevent or manage PMH in order to help guide future research efforts.

Contact Supervisor- Frankie Fair: [email protected]

Who is a MDC PhD studentship for? 

We welcome applications from individuals passionate about maternal health equity with particular methodology knowledge and experience. We are committed to building a supportive, inclusive, and caring research community. We particularly encourage applications from: 

• People from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. 
• People with disabilities, neurodivergent conditions, and long-term health requirements 
• Candidates of all genders, ages, and beliefs. 
• We encourage applicants with experience of a wide range of methodologies to apply if they believe they can bring valuable skills to research on maternity inequalities. If it is not immediately obvious, please use your cover letter to explain how your disciplinary background will allow you to carry out your research. 

Eligibility Criteria

Essential

• First/Upper Second-Class Honours degree (2:1 or above) in a relevant subject (economics, health economics, statistics or similar).
• A Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Understanding of and commitment to tackling maternity inequalities. 
• Relevant previous research experience – this experience may be relevant to either the research or methodological area. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Highly motivated. 
• Able to work both independently and as part of a team. 
• Able to plan and manage own work. 
• International applicants are welcome to apply for studentships, but applicants who are selected for interview must be able to provide proof of funding for international fees and immigration costs prior to their interview.   
• Where English is not your first language, you must show evidence of English language ability to the following minimum level of proficiency: an overall IELTS score of 7.0 or above, with at least 6.5 in each component or an accepted equivalent. Please note that your test score must be current, i.e. within the last two years. The only exception to the above would be if applicants can provide a Master’s certificate completed in a UK institution with an outcome of merit or distinction, taken within the last two years.

*All students will be expected to be based at their host university and meet the individual university PhD studentship regulations. Please check individual university postgraduate admissions.

Accessibility and Support

We want you to perform at your best. You may contact individual supervisors when asking for more details about the projects and your suitability for the project. General enquiries about the recruitment process and MDC, including if you require any reasonable adjustments for the application process or the interview (such as alternative formats, extra time, or specific technological needs), please contact:  [email protected].  

NIHR and DHSC have a duty as a public body to promote equality of opportunity.  We will contact all applicants throughout the application period with an Equality Monitoring Form. Monitoring ensures that all applications to NIHR MDC Programmes are treated equally in terms of gender, ethnicity and/or disability. Information will be anonymised and stored separately from your application, only be used for the purpose of monitoring equal opportunities and be kept securely and in confidence.