Organisation/Company: Swansea University
Department: Central Research
Field: Psychological sciences
Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
Positions: PhD Positions
Country: United Kingdom
Application Deadline: 7 Apr 2025 - 11:59 (Europe/London)
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Hours Per Week: 35
Offer Starting Date: 1 Jul 2025
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
Reviews conducted by the UK government, the National Institute of Health and the Food Foundation outline that high levels of consumption of Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) and a lack of healthy dietary intake (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables) is one of the biggest risk factors for the development of preventable, non-communicable physical and mental health issues. Food-related ill-health (mental and physical) costs the NHS between £6-11bn+ per year (Public Health England, 2016).
Since the “cost of living crisis”, the number of people in the UK living in poverty has increased significantly, resulting in many more households facing food insecurity, which is associated with reduced consumption of balanced nutritional intake and increased consumption of UPFs. Many households are also turning to local foodbanks for support. While foodbank parcels provide a vital lifeline by supporting food provision, parcels largely consist of items which are UPFs and lack in fresh food produce due to financial and logistical barriers. This project aims to work in partnership with a local foodbank in order to further understand the relationship between food insecurity, dietary patterns, and psychological outcomes. It also aims to explore the development of community-based initiatives to increase access to fresh food produce and evidence the impact of this provision on psychological outcomes.
Project objectives include:
1. Explore the link between food insecurity, foodbank service use, and mental health.
2. Understand potential barriers and facilitators to accessing fresh food from the perspective of organisations and service users.
3. Working with an interdisciplinary team and members of the community, co-develop a community-based initiative to widen access to fresh food produce for service users.
The successful candidate will benefit from an interdisciplinary team of experts from different sectors (nutrition and public health research, food industry partners, and charitable organisations). Through participatory research techniques, the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to develop expertise in networking, collaboration, communication, community engagement, and engaging policymakers. The studentship will be especially suited to candidates who have strong interpersonal skills (e.g., communication, empathy, teamwork). Experience working with members of the public through organisations such as foodbanks, charities, and local community groups would be desirable.
This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).
Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.
#J-18808-Ljbffr