2026-27 Project (Hargreaves & Longley & Seedat)
Evaluating the burden and risk factors of infectious diseases among newly arrived migrants in the UK, and exploring healthcare models to enhance infectious disease prevention
SUPERVISORY TEAM
Supervisor
Professor Sally Hargreaves at City St George’s
School of Health & Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine
Email: s.hargreaves@sgul.ac.uk
Co-Supervisor
Dr Nicky Longley at LSHTM
Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, Department of Clinical Research
Email: Nicky.Longley@lshtm.ac.uk
Co-Supervisor
Dr Farah Seedat at City St George’s
School of Health & Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine
Email: fseedat@sgul.ac.uk
PROJECT SUMMARY
Project Summary
This PhD research project offers students the opportunity to contribute to better understanding of the health needs of newly arrived migrants and models of care, and translate new findings into service design and UK health policy making. The student will gain skills in advanced statistical methods, epidemiology, and designing and delivering large systematic reviews. They will also gain skills in participatory action methods and patient and public involvement and engagement (co-design), as well as qualitative data analysis, working closely with impacted communities to design new models of care.
Project Key Words
Migrant-health, health-inequalities, participatory-action-research, preventative-healthcare, intervention-design, epidemiology
MRC LID Themes
- Global Health
- Infectious Disease
- Health Data Science
Skills
MRC Core Skills
- Quantitative skills
- Interdisciplinary skills
Skills we expect a student to develop/acquire whilst pursuing this project:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis, including use of meta packages, Rayyan and PRISMA/PROSPERO
- Advanced statistical analysis of large datasets using R software. This will include multiple, logistic, and mixed regression modelling, and if possible multi-level modelling, to explore risk factors
- Qualitative methodology – approaches to in-depth interviewing, analysis using NVivo
- Participatory action research methods (co-design) and patient and public involvement and engagement more broadly
Routes
Which route/s are available with this project?
- 1+4 = Yes
- +4 = Yes
Possible Master’s programme options identified by supervisory team for 1+4 applicants:
- City St Georges – Master of Public Health MPH
- City St Georges – MSc Global Health
- LSHTM – MSc Epidemiology
- LSHTM – MSc Health Data Science
- LSHTM – MSc Public Health
- LSHTM – MSc Public Health for Global Practice
Full-time/Part-time Study
Is this project available for full-time study? Yes
Is this project available for part-time study? Yes
Location & Travel
Students funded through MRC LID are expected to work on site at their primary institution. At a minimum, all students must meet the institutional research degree regulations and expectations about onsite working and under this scheme they may be expected to work onsite (in-person) more frequently. Students may also be required to travel for conferences (up to 3 over the duration of the studentship), and for any required training for research degree study and training. Other travel expectations and opportunities highlighted by the supervisory team are noted below.
Day-to-day work (primary location) for the duration of this research degree project will be at: City St George’s – Tooting campus, London
Travel requirements for this project: Training and site visit to Denmark or another European partner (such as IS Global in Spain; or Maastricht University in the Netherlands), depending on student interest.
Eligibility/Requirements
Particular prior educational requirements for a student undertaking this project
- Minimum standard institutional eligibility criteria for doctoral study at City St George’s
- An MSc in a related subject, proven aptitude for quantitative analysis and interest in qualitative methodology and participatory action methods (co-design, PPIE).
Other useful information
- Potential Industrial CASE (iCASE) conversion? = No
PROJECT IN MORE DETAIL
Scientific description of this research project
There has been an unprecedented rise in migrants to the UK, with recent increases due to crises in Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan. There is limited knowledge of disease prevalence, vaccination gaps, and the best healthcare models for these newly arrived populationss. Post-COVID-19, there is growing interest in engaging affected communities to translate research into action, particularly through participatory methods for healthcare interventions. This project will bring together disparate datasets to assess health needs and optimum approaches and then use participatory action research methods to co-design healthcare interventions with migrants to drive changes in policy and practice for infectious disease screening and preventative healthcare in newly arrived migrants to the UK.
Project objectives:
- Assess the burden and risk factors of infectious disease and levels of under-immunisation through analysis of digital health records in the UK, particularly the Hospital Episodes Statistics dataset, the Office for National Statistics mortality data, and Clinical Practice Research Datalink
- Compile data on models of best practice from high-migrant receiving countries and implications for service delivery
- Use participatory action and qualitative methods to work with impacted communities to design healthcare interventions (e.g., strengthen linkage between primary and secondary care, define screening pathways, co-design health information tailored to impacted communities) to translate findings into policy and practice.
Techniques to be used:
- Statistical analysis of large datasets: An analysis of the burden and risk factors of disease and under-immunisation using digital health records in the UK and/or European datasets (Tessy/ECDC, University of Copenhagen national registry datasets).
- Systematic review (and meta-analysis if feasible): To compile global published and grey literature on models of health care, best practice in preventative healthcare and initial health assessments in newly arrived migrants, following PRISMA guidelines.
- Participatory action and qualitative research To work with impacted communities to collect and analyse qualitative data on their views and experiences of preventative healthcare provision on arrival
- Use quantitative and qualitative datasets to support the co-design of healthcare interventions around infectious disease screening and catch-up vaccination, and translational research approaches to promote findings to foster uptake by policy and service decision-makers.
Confirmed availability of databases or specialist materials:
We have established contacts with the Department of Health and Social Care who own the UK datasets and have confirmed access (Dr Ines Campos Matos, Prof Rob Aldridge, Prof Andrew Hayward). From previous and ongoing work with the ECDC, we also have access to Tessy (European/infectious diseases dataset) and have confirmed access to national registries on the health status of newly arrived with Prof. M. Norredam (University of Copenhagen).
Potential risks and mitigation plans:
These datasets are disparate and of variable reliability and completeness but we have used them before and by engaging key experts in this field we are confident that we would generate meaningful results that will directly influence priority setting and health policy. We envisage no risks with objectives 2-3. We have published widely in all these areas (epidemiology, analysis of large datasets, systematic reviews, co-design, qualitative analyses).
Further reading
Relevant preprints and/or open access articles:
(DOI = Digital Object Identifier)
Other pre-application materials: None
Additional information from the supervisory team
The supervisory team has provided a recording for prospective applicants who are interested in their project. This recording should be watched before any discussions begin with the supervisory team.
Hargreaves & Longley & Seedat Recording
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