PhD Study : SAFEWATER: Health impacts of implementing household-based water treatment interventions in rural communities in Colombia and Mexico

Summary

Background:

Water borne diseases from drinking unsafe water contribute to high incidence of illness in developing regions.  At least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is faecally contaminated and thus likely to lead to diarrheal illness: nearly 1,000 children die each day due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrhoeal diseases. In 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognised the human right to water and sanitation. Everyone has the right to sufficient, continuous, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.  Low cost technologies for safe drinking water have significant potential to improve the health of communities who rely on unsafe water, and thus improve their quality of life through reduced illnesses, reduced absence from employment, improved school attendance, improved family life, and less stress on females (normally responsible for water in households).

This research project is directly linked to the SAFEWATER Project, ‘Low cost technologies for safe drinking water in developing regions’ funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund RCUK.  Provision of safe drinking water can be anticipated to have major impacts across the health of the community, the family and the individual (adults and children).

Aims:

The overall aim of this PhD project is to determine the health impacts of implementing household-based water treatment interventions in rural communities in Mexico and Colombia. The student will be supervised and mentored by academic staff with expertise from the separate disciplines of Nutrition and Psychology in order to address the following project objectives:

Determine Nutrition, Growth and Child health outcomes, by conducting field work to assess changes in growth, malnutrition risk and related health outcomes in children from households in Mexico and Columbia, before and after implementation of water treatment intervention.

Conduct Behaviour analysis to assess Family-related outcomes, by investigating behaviours involved in collecting and using water by caregivers, and assessing how these behaviours change after water treatment intervention.

Overall this PhD project will generate scientific evidence and deliver outcomes that will contribute to the overall objectives of the SAFEWATER project.

Academic impact – This research project will deliver results concerning the health impacts of implementing household-based water treatment interventions in low income regions. The research findings will be published in high impact peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at international scientific conferences.

Overseas impact – This PhD research is part of the SAFEWATER GCRF RCUK project which is a large transdisciplinary research project in partnership with universities and NGOs in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.   The overall goal is to deliver low cost technologies for safe drinking water in rural areas of Colombia and Mexico, and to build capability in the UK and capacity overseas for addressing global challenges.  The research student will be expected to work closely with the overseas partners, including research visits to Colombia, Mexico or Brazil.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living