Scholarship Opportunity: Improving diabetes care in China with lay family health promoters

An opportunity for a prestigious UNSW Scientia PhD scholarships in public health research at The George Institute for Global Health, comprising:

• $40,000 per annum stipend for four years (tax free)
• Tuition fees covered for the full 4-year period (for international and local students)
• Coaching and mentoring as part of your highly personalized career and leadership development plan
• Up to $10,000 each year to build your career and support your international research collaborations.

China has over 115 million people with types 2 diabetes – the largest population in the world. However, this population experiences large healthcare quality gaps leading to avoidable deaths and disability. The Chinese health system is struggling to overcome these gaps in care and innovative, cost-effective solutions are needed. We have shown that lay family members can be trained to improve care for their relatives with types 2 diabetes in China. We are now testing in a randomised trial whether this strategy can be scaled up using a mobile phone platform in 80 rural and urban health centres in Hebei province.

• A Master’s degree in public health, global health or another relevant discipline
• A solid understanding of the Chinese health care system
• Chinese language proficiency
• Past experience or a keen interest in implementation science and health systems research methods
• Keen interest in use of mobile devices for healthcare

The supervisory team is David Peiris , The George Institute for Global Health, Puhong Zhang, The George Institute for Global Health, China, and Limin Mao, Arts & Social Sciences, Centre for Social Research in Health.

Please submit your applications via the UNSW website:

https://www.2025.unsw.edu.au/apply/scientia-phd-scholarships/improving-diabetes-care-china-lay-family-health-promoters

The UNSW Scientia PhD Scholarship Scheme is part of UNSW’s dedication to harnessing our cutting-edge research to solve complex problems and improve the lives of people in local and global communities. Scientia scholars will have a strong commitment to making a difference in the world with demonstrated potential for contributing to the social engagement and/or global impact pillars of the UNSW 2025 Strategy. The Scientia Scheme is targeted in that applicants apply to a specific research area with an identified supervisory team and application is by nomination.  To learn more about the Scientia PhD scholarship, click here: http://www.2025.unsw.edu.au/apply/?interest=scholarships