Biomedicine: Fully Funded Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and Swansea Welsh Medium PhD Scholarship: The impact of language on eye health in optical practices in Wales (RS707)

Funding providers: Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and Swansea University

Subject areas: Health care (Optometry) 

Project start date: January 2025

Project supervisors:

• Dr Alwena Morgan (a.h.morgan@swansea.ac.uk)
• Dr Jeff Davies
• Dr Luke Roberts
• Dr Jennifer Acton (Cardiff University)

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Medical and Health Care Studies (Biomedicine)

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description: 

Effective communication is an integral part of standard health care but the importance of using the patient's first language as part of their care has not been strongly established (Irvine et al.2006). Language choice is even more important for specific groups of vulnerable patients such as children or the elderly, who have not learned/lost bilingual skills, as well as people who suffer from mental health illnesses (Martin et al. 2018). Defects due to language barriers can lead to a communication gap between patients and clinicians which then has negative effects on patient safety and outcomes including medical errors, readmissions to hospital, lower numbers of outpatients, lack of use of preventive services, lack of compliance with medication, and lack of effective management of chronic conditions (Bowen 2015; van Rose et al. 2015). 

There is literature suggesting that a lack of care in a patient's mother tongue is associated with the severity of particular eye conditions at the time of diagnosis. More specifically, in the USA, non-English speaking glaucoma patients have worse results in their initial visual field test (Visual Field (VF) test) compared to English speakers (Altangerel et al.2009; Halawa et al.2022). But these studies did not see a link between the severity of disease progression and language. However, a lack of linguistic concordance between a patient and their doctor contributes to non-compliance with a treatment plan (Moissac & Bowen, 2019). Furthermore, there is an increased likelihood of developing glaucoma in patients with the chronic illness Diabetes (Zhao et al.2015), where a lack of English proficiency has been shown to contribute to poor diabetes management among the Latino population in the USA (Fernandez et al.2010). Thus, it is possible that a lack of language concordance could contribute to increased severity of chronic eye conditions.  

Although there is evidence of a link between the language of care and the severity of some chronic conditions, there is a lack of evidence in the field of optometry and as a result many opticians are either unaware or doubtful of the possible negative impact of a lack of care in the patient’s mother tongue. In 2023 a questionnaire was provided to optical practices in Wales, asking about their experiences of linguistic barriers in optical care and their opinion on the Welsh 'active offer'. The responses included comments that convey that some see a need for bilingual care in Wales (Figure 1). But also, comments suggested that some opticians in Wales are not aware of the possible impact of a lack of care in the patient's mother tongue and are not likely to agree with the Welsh government's 'More Than Words' plan and strategy, which describes the intention to increase the number of bilingual health carers (Figure 1). We see from these comments that there is a need for direct evidence of the impact of a lack of care in the Welsh language on Welsh patients in the field of optometry. Therefore, for this project we intend to investigate the impact of care in Welsh language on chronic eye conditions.

Further project description for RS707

Applicants are encouraged to submit initial inquiries about submission awards - and to do so before the closing date; submit these enquiries to the relevant staff member(s) in the faculty. 

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is – at this time – open solely to applicants who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK (United Kingdom) rate, as defined by UKCISA regulations. 

If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please e-mail pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk, providing details of the scholarship(s) in which you are interested and the accompanying webpage URL. 

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 will also be available.

To apply, please complete your application online with the following information:

1. Course choice – please select Medical and Health Care Studies / PhD / Full-time / 3 Years / January

   In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this event, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.

2. Start year – please select 2025
3. Funding (page 8) –

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS707 - Eye Health’

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project.
• Two references (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting Welsh Language requirement
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Dr Alwena Morgan (a.h.morgan@swansea.ac.uk / 01792 602051.

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.