Denise O’Connor

Wiser Healthcare at Monash University is offering a PhD scholarship within a new NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence focused on strengthening health system sustainability and resilience. The project sits inside an internationally recognised Australian research collaboration that aims to improve the value, sustainability and equity of health care while supporting stronger outcomes for patients, practitioners, the public and the planet. The successful candidate will join the Wiser Healthcare team at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and work within a large national multidisciplinary collaboration. The CRE brings together researchers from five Australian universities, along with consumers, clinicians, health service organisations and policymakers, to tackle two major challenges in health systems: overuse of care that provides little or no benefit, and underuse of effective care. Research questions for the PhD will be shaped with the successful candidate and aligned with their interests, skills and experience as well as CRE priorities. Possible areas include healthcare overuse and underuse, implementation and de-implementation science, health system sustainability, environmentally sustainable health care, and the development and evaluation of interventions to improve healthcare delivery. The role offers a research environment with strong links to consumers, clinicians, health services, professional organisations and government agencies, with an emphasis on co-production, real-world impact, mentoring and professional development. PhD students will also join the CRE’s research capacity-building program, relevant methods groups, and multidisciplinary research teams, with opportunities for collaboration, research dissemination and broader network participation. The scholarship is supervised by Professors Denise O’Connor and Rachelle Buchbinder.