PhD Position "Intercultural Triadic Shared Decision-Making in Mental Healthcare"

Are you interested in how migrant clients with mental health challenges can be optimally supported in making triadic shared treatment decisions together with their support systems and mental healthcare professionals? Do you want to understand the complex dynamics in triadic shared decision-making, and find a way to increase it in the mental health context? Then, apply for this PhD project!

PhD Opportunity: Enhancing Triadic Shared Decision-Making for Migrants
We are looking for an ambitious PhD Candidate for the four-year project “It takes Three to Tango: Triadic Shared Decision-Making with Migrants, Their Support Systems, and Mental Healthcare Providers.”.

Shared decision-making (SDM) is particularly important in mental healthcare because considerations around what is suitable/preferable for the migrant client are highly personal in this context. In this context, SDM seems to have various beneficial effects on provided care and client outcomes. However, despite the need for SDM among migrants, SDM is not sufficiently implemented in mental healthcare in general, and often likely even less for certain subpopulations such as migrants.

This PhD-project will investigate how Dutch-Turkish migrant clients with mental health challenges can be optimally supported in making triadic shared treatment decisions together with their support systems and mental healthcare professionals. To this end, a culturally-sensitive and tailored training-based intervention will be developed and tested in this project.

Methods used in the project include interviews and/or focus groups to better understand the barriers to and needs for SDM; think-aloud sessions and interviews as part of the user-centered design approach; and an experimental study to evaluate a culturally-sensitive and tailored training-based intervention. The PhD Candidate will write a paper-based dissertation and strive to publish the results of individual studies in important journals in the field of Communication Science.

What are you going to do
This PhD project takes a mixed-methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative research. Over the course of the project, you will conduct three interconnected studies. As a PhD candidate, you manage the project, including scheduling meetings with the supervisory team, preparing agendas, and documenting meetings and research activities. You contribute to the ASCoR research community by participating in workshops, meetings, and lectures Importantly, you are responsible for setting up the individual studies, recruiting participants, collecting and analyzing data, and writing scientific articles that culminate in your dissertation. Hence, more specifically, your tasks will be to:

• complete an English-language PhD dissertation consisting of a minimum of three research articles within the appointment period;
• recruit and conduct both qualitative and quantitative studies with Dutch-Turkish migrants, their support system (e.g., relatives), and mental healthcare professionals;
• develop, pilot test, optimize, and test the effectiveness of a culturally-sensitive and tailored training-based intervention through user-centered design (involving both qualitative and quantitative research) and a two-arm experimental study;
• conduct data analysis and present the work at national and international conferences;
• Support teaching activities at the Bachelor’s level (up to approximately 10% of your time).

What do you have to offer
You have:

• a Research Master’s degree or strong research profile in Communication Science, Psychology, or another discipline relevant to the project;
• interest in topics associated with mental health, migrants, shared decision-making, and interventions;
• proven experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods (interviews and/or focus groups, survey, experiment, co-creation/user-centered design) and analyses (e.g., in SPSS and/or R);
• excellent proficiency in Dutch and English, both verbally and in writing;
• interest in open science principles and a commitment to methodological rigor and scientific integrity.

As this project will comprise conducting qualitative research with Dutch-Turkish people, a background or language proficiency that fits this target group is a plus.

Besides, experience with writing/publishing scientific publications are a plus.

You are able to:

• be creative in problem-solving within the field of persuasive communication, with a focus on mental health communication and migrant clients, adapting to challenges with resilience and creativity;
• maintain a proactive attitude, be open to feedback, and pay attention to detail;
• show curiosity to master new skills (e.g., novel research methods);
• keep calm and stay organized in a rapidly changing environment when juggling multiple tasks (e.g., combining research and teaching);
• manage your own time effectively and work independently while collaborating well within a team;
• communicate research findings clearly to both academic and non-academic audiences.

What else do we offer
The planned starting date for this project is March 17th, 2025, but there is some flexibility with regard to the starting date. The position concerns temporary employment for a maximum term of four years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 36 months, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. We will put together a curriculum that will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also be tasked with teaching (Bachelor’s) students for up to approximately 10% of the contract. For this position the University Job Classification profile PhD Candidate (Promovendus) applies.

At this department, you will be working
The PhD Candidate will be embedded in the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), and will be part of the Persuasive Communication Programme Group. The project will be supervised by Dr. Nida Gizem Yilmaz, Dr. Annemiek Linn, and Dr. Barbara Schouten.

Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? We look forward to receiving your application by January 3rd, 2025. Interviews with the selected candidates will take place between January 20th-24th. If deemed necessary, a second round of interviews will be scheduled between February 10th-14th.

Please submit your application as a single .pdf file, including:

• Curriculum vitae, with grade transcripts from your bachelor’s and (research) master’s studies;
• Letter of motivation (max. 2 pages): Outline your interest in this topic, your readiness for the PhD project, and how you meet the selection criteria. If any criteria are not yet fully met, explain how you plan to develop the necessary skills. Optionally, include contact details of two academic referees familiar with your work;
• Writing sample in English, such as a master’s thesis or a recent essay.

Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact: Nida Gizem Yilmaz, Assistant Professor, n.g.yilmaz@uva.nl.

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