What knowledge do neonatal nurses have of the needs of multiple birth families and what do they need to know to deliver excellent care?

This funding model includes a 36 month fully funded PhD Studentship, set in-line with the Research Council values. For 2024/5, this will be £19,237 per year. The tax-free stipend will be paid monthly. This PhD Studentship also includes a Full-Time Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years. The funding is subject to your continued registration on the research degree, making satisfactory progression within your PhD, as well as attendance on and successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice.

All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status.

Application Closing Date:
Midday (UK Time) on Monday 30^th September 2024 for a start date of the 3^rd February 2025.

How to Apply

To apply, please follow the below steps:

Complete the BCU Online Application Form
Complete the Doctoral Studentship Proposal Form in full, ensuring that you quote the project ID. You will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement on the BCU online application form.
Upload two references to your online application form (at least one of which must be an academic reference).
Upload your qualification(s) for entry onto the research degree programme. This will be Bachelor/Master’s certificate(s) and transcript(s).
International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification. Please see the list of English language qualifications accepted here. Please check the individual research degree course page for the required scores.

FAQs

Where do I include the project ID?	You must include the project ID listed in the advert on your completed Doctoral Studentship Proposal. There is a field for this in Section 2 of the form under ‘Research Project’. If you do not provide the correct project ID, we would be unable to review your expression of interest for this project.
Do I need to complete a research proposal when the topic has already been set?	Yes, you must complete the Doctoral Studentship Research Proposal in full. This Research Proposal acts as part of your expression of interest, so without this, we will not be able to consider you when the projects are set up.
Can one of my referees be the project lead listed in the advert?	No, the project lead listed in this advert cannot be a referee for any expressions of interest for this project.
What if I want to apply for more than one funded project being advertised?	You can apply for more than one funding scheme being advertised. To apply for multiple opportunities, you only need to complete one online application form to study at BCU. However, you mustsubmit a separate Doctoral Studentship Proposal for each project you want to be considered for as part of your application to BCU. To confirm, please complete one BCU online application form but upload separate Doctoral Studentship Proposals for each opportunity you wish to be considered for.
I have applied before the deadline, but now want to be considered for a different funded project advertised. Can I switch my application?	No, we will only consider your application for the funded projects you applied for by the deadline.
What if I miss the deadline, can I still apply?	No, unfortunately we are unable to accept applications for funded projects that are submitted after the deadline. You can still apply for a research degree at BCU, but applications for a funded project must be received before the deadline: Midday (UK time) on Monday 30^th September 2024.
The advert says the start date is February 2025. Is this flexible?	At this time, we are only able to offer February 2025 starts for these funded projects.

If your question is not answered above and you need any further information, please use the contact details below:

For enquiries about the project content, please contact:
Elizabeth.Bailey@bcu.ac.uk
For enquiries about the application procedure, please contact: research.admissions@bcu.ac.uk

Project Title:

What knowledge do neonatal nurses have of the needs of multiple birth families and what do they need to know to deliver excellent care?

Project Lead:

Dr Elizabeth Bailey

Project ID:

HELS-39960229

Project Description:

Often, babies born through multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets or more) spend time in the neonatal unit for specialist care. We know from research that multiple birth parents find neonatal care very stressful and that they feel their experiences are different from those of parents of single babies.

Nurses working in neonatal units spend a lot of time providing care to babies and their families and it is highly likely that they will care for many ‘multiples’ throughout their career. Registered nurses undertake additional education to specialise in caring for newborns, but it is unclear how much of this education provides information on the specific needs and complications associated with multiple births.

This project would seek to explore a) what research is already published on this topic and identify gaps in research, b) measure neonatal nurses’ knowledge of multiple births using a questionnaire that has been used in health professionals in a similar manner in Finland, c) talk to neonatal nurses about their experiences of caring for this group. Following this, we will bring together nurses and families to d) jointly design a framework that outlines what neonatal nurses need to know in order to provide effective multiple birth family centred care.

This project would give a doctoral student the opportunity to learn to apply mixed research methods and generate new knowledge, work as part of a larger international partnership and make a difference to the way that neonatal nurses are educated and families experience care.

Anticipated findings and contributions to knowledge:

Research Question: What knowledge do neonatal nurses have of the needs of multiple birth families and what do they need to know to deliver excellent care?

Work plan:

Literature review using a systematic and rigorous approach and following appropriate academic framework (eg: PRISMA). Final literature search scope to be refined by student. Output 1: Review paper published in peer reviewed journal.
Survey of UK neonatal nurses to develop a broader understanding of neonatal nurses’ knowledge of multiple birth care. This will make use of a survey instrument devised by supervisor (Heinonen) containing Likert-scale statements and open-ended questions. Responses will be statistically analysed with qualitative data subjected to content analysis. Output 2: Paper presenting findings of the survey.
Interviews with approximately 20 neonatal nurses using purposeful sampling to include some nurses (approx. 5) new to the role and some (approx. 5) with over 8 years’ experience caring for multiple birth families and those with mixed experience (remaining 10). Transcribed interviews will generate data to be subjected to thematic analysis. Output 3: Qualitative paper describing findings from the interviews.
Co-design workshop with neonatal nurses (up to 5) and multiple birth families (up to 5) to review study findings so far and to discover and generate new knowledge together. Output 4: A co-designed framework outlining key areas of knowledge to support multiple birth family centred care. Output 5: Paper describing the context and methods that led to output 4.

Person Specification:

The study is to be undertaken in the UK and as such knowledge of the UK neonatal care system would be beneficial.

International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification, such as International English Language Test System (IELTS) or equivalent with an overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0.